V  f,..  x.' 


r^\\ 


«:'v.  V 


\'  \'i 


History  or  TOE 
Company 


I8I0-1910 


ONE   HUNDRED   YEARS 
OF  SERVICE 


BEING   THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


HARTFORD  FIRE  INSURANCE 

COMPANY 


COMPILED    BY 

CHARLES   W.   BURPEE 


HARTFORD,    CONN. 
I  9  I  O 


mrrtiD  e  Lrv(uj«»TOra  i 


ONE  CENTURY'S  TRANSITIONS 

TODAY  fire  insurance  has  been  awarded  its  place  as  one 
of  the  most  important  features  of  industrial  and  com- 
mercial life.  To  get  the  fascinating  story  of  its  develop- 
ment, it  is  well  to  take  the  career  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance 
Company  which  has  its  centennial  this  year  of  1910.  It  is  well 
because  the  company  dates  almost  from  the  inception  of  stock  fire 
insurance  in  this  country;  because,  in  its  century  of  service,  dis- 
charging every  obligation,  it  has  developed  $15,000  in  cash  into 
assets  of  over  $23,000,000,  with  capital  of  $2,000,000  and  net 
premium  income  of  $14,989,010;  because,  in  hours  when  men's 
senses  were  benumbed,  it  has  stood  firmly  between  the  nation  and 
disaster,  and  thus  has  stood,  like  the  stolid  general  in  battle,  not 
to  win  applause  but  because  it  was  its  bounden  duty — what  it 
was  there  for. 

Conscious,  each  one  of  us,  that  fire  insurance  is  the  safeguard 
and  promoter  of  prosperity,  think  back  to  the  days  when  men  knew 
not  of  it.  If  a  few  banded  together  to  share  each  other's  losses, 
it  was  chiefly  in  that  self-denying  crusader  spirit  which  brought 
our  ancestors  to  these  shores  and  which  united  them  against  all 
their  foes.  Verily  that  spirit  of  striving  to  ameliorate  conditions 
has  had  its  reward  in  America  in  the  blessings  of  free  government, 
yet  perhaps  in  no  way  more  remarkably,  here  or  elsewhere,  than 
in  making  protection  against  loss  by  fire  a  boon  to  both  the  insurer 
and  the  insured.  There  have  been  days  when  the  loss  to  the 
insurers  was  greater  than  the  losses  to  the  individuals  insured— 
their  destruction, —  and  still  nowhere  in  our  story  will  it  be  repre- 
sented that  insurance  is  other  than  a  boon  to  the  insurer  if  he  has 
followed  the  guide  of  industry,  fidelity  and  experience. 

During  the  hundred  years  we  have  had  the  New  York  fires, 
the  Chicago  fire,  the  Boston  fire,  the  Jacksonville  and  Baltimore 
fires  and  the  San  Francisco  horror;  thousands  of  us  ourselves  or 
our  friends  have  had  losses  all  the  way  from  a  burned  rug  to  a  great 
establishment  in  ashes;    and  we  ourselves  have  been  reimbursed 

[3] 


so  quickly,  the  whole  world  has  been  enabled  to  recover  so  speedily 
from  the  tremendous  shock  in  the  obliteration  of  millions  upon 
millions  of  capital,  that  the  once  inconceivable  is  the  accepted  fact 
today.  Indeed,  the  danger  now  may  be  that  we  are  becoming 
too  blase,  that  we  accept  one  fact  and  hurry  on  for  the  next,  not 
pausing  to  heed  the  tremendous  forces  that  have  been  at  work, 
to  look  into  the  lives  and  methods  of  men  who  have  done  this  thing 
for  us,  to  measure  their  zeal  and  to  learn  from  their  heroism. 

Yesterday's  marvel  is  today's  matter-of-course.  The  impossible 
becomes  the  common-place.  Of  all  the  pleasures  life  affords,  none 
is  greater  than  analysis  of  this  swift  transition.  Yet  so  swift  is  it 
and  so  absorbed  are  we  in  the  persistent  and  strenuous  present  that 
we  scarcely  take  time  to  make  the  analysis.  We  applaud  present 
achievement  like  this  of  the  Hartford,  but  the  story  of  the  past 
must  be  terse  as  well  as  interesting  if  it  is  to  command  our  attention. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  these  pages,  then,  to  present  tersely,  and 
with  human-interest  high-lights,  atmosphere  of  the  times  and  true 
stage-setting,  the  incidents  and  experiences  which  made  the  achieve- 
ment possible.  Hartford  is  the  home  of  the  Hartford  Fire  by 
virtue  of  its  birth,  Connecticut  its  state,  and  yet  it  belongs  to  the 
whole  nation.  Out  of  the  mass  of  material  at  hand,  that  must 
be  chosen  which  shall  be  as  interesting  to  readers  in  Illinois  and 
Chicago,  in  Georgia  and  Atlanta  and  in  California  and  San  Fran- 
cisco as  to  readers  in  Connecticut  and  Hartford. 

Special  gratitude  to  the  founders  we  must  express  for  their 
foresight  in  the  matter  of  their  records.  That  they  were  laying 
mightier  foundations  than  they  knew  is  self-evident;  that  they 
believed  that  a  hundred  years  later  there  would  be  hosts  of  people — 
more  than  then  they  could  have  dreamed  of  *  —  keenly  interested 
in  the  formal  doings  at  their  meetings  is  not  at  all  probable.  And 
yet,  as  though  directed  by  Providence,  they  chose  for  their  records 
a  good-sized  book  which  contains  not  only  the  minutes  of  their 
meetings,  both  stockholders  and  directors,  but  also  the  minutes 
of  the  meetings  of  the  stockholders  succeeding  them,  continuously 
on  down  to  the  present  day.  Despite  the  fact  that  much  of  the 
space  in  the  old  time  was  taken  up  with  the  resolutions  appointing 
individual  agents  or  surveyors  hither  and  yon,  there  is  still  room 
in  the  book  for  the  minutes  of  meetings  for  many  years  to  come. 

*  Daniel  Wadsworth  said  in  1820  that  he  actually  believed  that  by  1900  Hartford  would  have  a 
population  of  40,000.    It  was  getting  close  on  toward  100,000  at  the  dawn  of  the  new  century. 

[4] 


It  is  a  leather-bound  book,  its  corners  well  worn.     With  tender 
care  its  back  was  replaced  some  years  ago  with  a  plain  black  leather 
strip  on  which  one  still  reads  the  ordinary  writing-paper  label  — 
"Records  of  Annual 
Meetings  from 
1810— " 

The  interior  is  of  linen  paper  that  is  almost  proof  against  the 
yellowing  finger  of  Father  Time.  The  ink  likewise  was  made  from 
that  precious  old  formula  which  rendered  it  practically  permanent, 
and  as  to  the  handwriting  of  Secretary  Walter  Mitchell,  President 
Nathaniel  Terry  and  their  successors,  even  unto  the  present  most 
remote  generation,  it  was  and  is  remarkably  legible.  Surviving 
its  early  knock-about  days,  it  found  resting  place  at  last  in  those 
secure  vaults  of  the  present  massive  building  of  the  company  where 
it  is  as  safe  as — rather  safer  than — the  contents  of  the  tombs  of 
Egypt.  One  might  say  that  it  is  enshrined,  such  is  the  reverence 
for  it  in  the  home  office.  Other  relics  also  are  stored  in  the  vaults 
or  framed  on  the  walls,  but  this  is  the  chief  of  relics,  and  like  the 
company  whose  life  it  records  from  century  to  century,  its  useful- 
ness is  constant,  while  no  man  can  measure  how  valuable  it 
shall  be  through  the  future,  not  for  the  company  alone  but  for  those 
who  shall  seek  the  autograph  record  of  the  business  customs  of 
the  times,  the  history  of  the  company  and  thereby  the  story  of  how 
seeming  miracles  have  been  worked. 

Could  America  have  been  what  she  is  today  but  for  deeds  like 
those  here  recorded  in  terse  "votes"  of  stockholders  and  directors, 
always  ready  to  meet  demands  upon  them  .?  Could  New  York's 
confidence  have  been  placed  upon  absolutely  unshakable  foundation 
in  1835,  with  all  that  that  has  meant  to  the  metropolis  and  the 
world  ?  Could  Chicago  so  soon  have  rallied  from  its  terrible  blow 
and  the  development  of  the  great  West  have  proceeded  as  it  has  .'' 
Could  Boston  today  be  almost  forgetting  that  morning  when  it 
abandoned  all  hope  .?  Could  Baltimore  point  with  such  pride  to 
its  magnificent  buildings  so  soon  after  there  had  been  but  smoldering 
ruins  on  their  sites  ?  Could  the  world's  Eighth  Wonder,  the  resur- 
rection of  San  Francisco,  have  been  undertaken,  not  to  say  accom- 
plished thus  promptly,  without  the  aid  like  that  so  freely  rendered 
by  the  "Old  Hartford"  as  shown  in  these  pages.'' 

And  this  is  but  a  brief  review.  Where,  without  fire  insurance, 
there  might  have  been  pathless  Carthages  in  America  today,  there 

[5] 


now  are  cities  handsomer  than  ever.  This  old  book,  in  fewest 
words,  records  the  raising  and  expenditure  of  millions  —  to  keep 
faith  and  to  ward  off  ruin  from  thousands  of  those  whom  fire  had 
despoiled.  Who  shall  say  it  is  not  worthy  to  hold  place  among 
the  foremost  in  the  archives  of  the  country .'' 


II 

THE  GERM 

WHILE  the  stone  and  brick  and  steel  of  the  company's 
home  office  are  protecting  the  records  of  its  pledges  to 
repair  that  fearful  havoc  which  flames  can  work  at  any  time 
and  anywhere,  they  also  preserve  relics  and  documents  invaluable 
to  him  who  would  know  all  the  whys  and  wherefores  of  America's 
tremendous  prosperity  and  bouyancy. 

The  debt  owed  to  a  company  which  refuses  through  a  century 
to  be  shaken  is  not  represented  alone  by  the  amount  of  dollars  it 
has  paid  for  re-establishing  commerce  and  industry  and  homes; 
it  is  a  debt  w^hich  cannot  be  measured,  for  it  embraces  that  sense 
of  security  without  which  commerce  must  hesitate,  industry  be 
timorous  and  homes  be  a  source  of  wearing  anxiety.  Hence  our 
eagerness  to  seize  upon  all  evidence  of  how  these  Hartford  people 
were  led  into  the  paths  which  have  brought  us  to  such  blessedness. 

Foremost  among  the  relics  is  policy  "No.  2,"  February  8,  1794, 
for  800  pounds,  to  William  Imlay,  Esquire,  of  Hartford,  issued 
by  Sanford  &  Wadsworth  "for  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany." It  is  almost  as  clear  as  the  day  it  was  written  and  it  brings 
down  to  us  just  the  information  we  desire  as  to  how  the  business 
was  done  then — incidentally,  also,  bearing  silent  tribute  to  men's  faith 
in  each  other  in  those  days  of  close  personal  intercourse.  Probably 
it  is  the  oldest  fire  insurance  policy  extant  in  the  United  States. 

But  before  submitting  it  for  reading  in  full,  it  should  be  said 
that  the  Hartford  Fire  lays  no  claim  to  it  because  of  the  presence 
of  its  name  at  the  bottom  of  it.  One  hundred  years  from  1810  is 
a  long  record  and  one  that  will  lengthen  with  the  regular  travel 
of  the  earth  in  its  orbit.  There  is  no  need  nor  yet  intention  to 
unduly  lengthen  it  at  the  other  end.  By  the  date  of  its  charter 
it  is  the  oldest  company  in  Hartford,  "the  home  of  insurance," 
and  by  the  total  of  its  premiums  it  is  the  largest  company  in  the 
United  States;  but  it  was  not  in  existence,  other  than  in  embryo, 
in  the  eighteenth  century  and  it  did  not  insure  the  house  ot  this 
distinguished  Connecticut  citizen,  William  Imlay,   Esquire. 

[7] 


Nevertheless  we  have  here  a  germ,  and  as  such  it  should  receive 
close  scrutiny.  The  subject  matter,  not  the  personnel,  demands 
first  attention.  It  was  for  Mr.  Imlay  "or  whom  else  it  may  con- 
cern, wholly  or  partly,  Friend  or  Foe,"  and  that  surely  includes 
all  of  us. 


J^'l 


\;ii^IEREAS 


CTVbomclieitinijeoaKrQ,  vTioHf  orpmlf,  rrioidorPocdoibmiieAirunnce  O'^'*- 


Aij  /fc^-^x-^c 


■ninll  Fire,  ud  iIIDuifaiof  FTr;  TnrrMTrr  ajraiiH  ad  Damafc  vhich  on  Account  of  Fire  may  bippcQ, 
cfibei  bj  Tcnpdt,  Fuc,  Wiad,  o«n  Fire,  Nt^ligcQu  lad  f  auir  of  vtn  Scrvioci,  or  of  tldglitraun,  «bnticr 
tbofeneardlor  funbeftnffi  ail  estcmal  AcdJoiri  tnd  AC^rrun^  ;  tbooght  of  and  Dot  thought  of,  mwbu 
Mukoafoctb  ihe  dimiEC  bj  Fire  Bu^ih*ppo)  v^^ />tif  ^i^-et^ ^•£:H€,''^^^t'^  <;*'»w-r'»«*'«'«'*^L 


^2i^^^^»Ct*^  4^^.^r/^t»'/Tk^i&^^^:^i^i^  ^.^^'^^^T^CHiaini  rpetullj  and  TOlor.tarnj  itie 


^        ^  O^^^^  ..^.4f.^saC^<=^ 


^;?4-/<'4V*-fi- CS^^  - 


iLxid  tbeAffur^',  or  »lioni  kmafcoBeeni.ia  afc  of  Dimige,  or  Hurt.  I>i»ll  n«Jto  kI-c  noPrcof  r.or  At- 
mmioftlicValac)  Ijuiihc  produdnf  ihli  Policy  (bJl  fnflite.     Ami  in  life  it  fcould  happen  thit  ihe  &id 

OT  tLat  Aeeounr,  tie  do  hereby  pTOnjfepurifhiillr  tDpiyand  rjrify,  cliliintlic  fpice  of  three  Monihiiiier  the 
Fire  OiiU  hiTC  b3pp«oeil,dae  Noucr  hjviog  hren  jtien  loui,  snQ  do  Dtduflion  tobe  nude  from  the  SumnTum'. 
Cicci'I  Tvo  and  »Q  Ii»lf(KrCfn/,  provided  f*i  J  Lofi  amounii  [onic/ir  Cnt(,  under  which  no  LofsoiDatnig* 
vill  be  pi-'d.  And  in  cite  pf  a  piniul  Ijiti,  aU  thai  Ihillbc  foiind  lo  belivedindprcfiined.lhjlltededufttil, 
mfteriliLlMduQJcDsfitie  ChugtipaiJ  forilit  ravinKandpreTerTing;  and  cooceroinE  which  the  Afiuredlhjill be 
bcUcied  on  hb  Oaa^  n-iihoui  Pur  »iltdgLrg  i«i  tlung  a^ainft  it.  And  Jo  we  the  Alluren  »re  conlcoted.and 
bind  OurftlTet  and  Coadj  prrfcnt  and  to  come,  rincunciOE  all  Cavilj  and  Eiccplioni  contrary  to  ihefe  Pr^ 
*-    '  '  '     ptcDU.'ei,  tbe  ConLdcntioa  ijuc  unlo  ut  for  ttii>  iiUTunoce  b;^  the  A(- 


li«ve  fidf Potter  to  jdj'ull  the  tme'i  but  b  cafe  tliey  onnoi  agree,  ittm  futhRroPertjw  OuU  tnoofeaTlur-, 
uidaoT  Tvo  of  them  agreeing,  flull  be  obligaiorj  to  both  Partiet. 

11^  ir!X£ESS   WHEREOF,    We  lie  AffM-'crs hice  futrcribcd  oin  Nimea  end  Sunu  iffmul  ia 

,   jP"  p,^  ^f  ^^^^kJcA^t"^  O"  llaufand  Seven  Hundred  >cd 


i^^^t.^^t-aC-f' 


*' Dangers  of  fire"  are  included;  likewise  tempest,  fire  or  wind 
which  may  come  from  his  own  fire  through  fault  of  himself,  his 
servants  or  his  most  remote  neighbors  (and  they  might  be  pretty 
remote  in  those  days) ;  and  unthought-of  possibilities  are  allowed 
for,  all  through  the  period  of  one  year  and  at  a  rate  of  one  half  per 
cent. 


[8] 


HOME    OFFICE,    1859    1870 


Mark  that  the  Insured  need  render  no  proof  nor  yet  submit 
facts  to  estabhsh  the  value  of  the  building  insured;  he  merely  is 
to  present  the  policy  and  receive  his  damages.  By  this  we  are 
beginning  to  get  the  "atmosphere"  we  want  for  the  early  stages 
of  our  story.  To  be  sure,  the  "company"  claimed  a  leeway  of 
three  months  in  paying  and  obligated  itself  to  pay  no  loss  which 
did  not  exceed  5  per  cent  of  the  full  amount.  Salvage  should 
be  allowed  and  the  expense  of  same,  purely  on  the  insured's  affidavit, 
the  "company"  never  "alledging  anything  against  it."  So  far 
as  the  English  language  could  do  it,  it  was  made  a  free,  frank 
instrument,  with  the  makers  "contented."  Then,  of  course,  after 
all  this,  if  there  should  be  differences,  there  was  provision  for  a 
board  of  arbitration. 

Before  the  personnel  of  the  insurers  under  this  contract  can 
be  fully  appreciated,  insight  must  be  had  into  the  conditions  and 
circumstances  of  the  times  and  we  be  enabled  to  see  in  what  other 
ways  the  character  of  these  same  men  was  revealing  itself.  And 
as  we  look  into  the  commercial  situation,  our  attention  is  drawn 
to  the  Hartford  Bank  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  mainspring  of  local 
financial  and  commercial  affairs,  was  managed  by  men  who  were 
the  prime  movers  in  insurance  and,  it  should  be  added,  was  to  bear 
at  least  as  close  relationship  as  that  of  godfather  to  the  insurance 
company  to  be  chartered  in  18 10.  The  Hartford  Bank  (to  become 
later  the  present  Hartford  National  Bank)  was  organized  under 
its  charter  June  18,  1792,  with  Colonel  Jeremiah  Wadsworth, 
Major  John  Caldwell,  a  leading  West  Indian  merchant;  John 
Morgan,  who  had  acquired  his  wealth  in  a  similar  manner  but  was 
to  lose  most  of  it  through  the  hardships  of  the  War  of  1 8 1 2 ;  Timothy 
Burr,  a  citizen  of  means  and  eminence,  and  Caleb  Bull,  of  family 
of  wide  influence  in  the  community,  as  directors.  These  names 
were  to  become  prominent  in  insurance  history.  Colonel  Wads- 
worth  declining  the  presidency.  Major  Caldwell  was  chosen,  and 
he  held  the  office  till  18 19,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Trum- 
bull and  he  in  turn  —  to  include  another  insurance  name — by 
David  F.  Robinson  in  1839.  The  capital  of  the  bank  was  increased 
to  $1,000,000  in  1807  and  stock  sold  at  a  high  premium. 

At  the  time  the  bank  was  established,  the  country  was  only 
just  beginning  to  recover  from  the  terrible  drain  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  What  with  few  facilities  for  intercourse  and  the 
states  a  bit  jealous  or  suspicious  of  each  other,  we  were  still  a  country 

[  "  ] 


of  communities,  seeking  to  satisfy  but  few  needs  except  those  that 
could  be  met  by  importations  from  neighboring  islands  and  never 
suspecting  the  tremendous  strength  of  the  ties  which  were  to  bind 
communities  and  states  and  make  the  influence  of  an  institution 
like  the  Hartford  felt  throughout  the  land.  There  was  a  federation 
but  not  much  of  a  nation.  The  bank,  then,  represented  the  will 
and  the  energy  of  Hartford  men,  a  force  which  was  to  aid  mightily 
in  welding  the  country's  communities  into  a  nation.  The  bank 
was  the  outcome  of  a  desire  for  better  facilities  and  for  greater 
cohesion.  The  same  desire  was  felt  by  the  early  insurance  men, 
and  it  is  natural  that  the  same  names  are  found  in  the  history  of 
the  bank  and  the  history  of  insurance.  Groping  was  giving  place 
to  formation. 

Since  earliest  times,  men  have  combined  to  alleviate  the  indi- 
vidual conditions  through  loss  of  the  breadwinner  or  through 
destruction  of  property.  But,  as  with  the  old-time  guilds,  such 
combination  implied  close  association,  intimate  knowledge  of  each 
other.  Such  association  and  knowledge,  outside  of  separate  com- 
munities, were  unknown  in  America.  However,  certain  of  these 
communities  followed  the  natural  trend  of  the  human  race,  and 
the  dwellers  therein  strove  to  share  each  other's  burdens.  The 
intense  economy  entailed  by  the  Revolutionary  War  no  doubt 
strengthened  the  habits  of  thrift  among  the  inhabitants  and  at  the 
same  time  increased  their  watchfulness  over  such  property  as  they 
possessed  and  which  was  rapidly  increasing.  The  destruction 
of  this  property  was  threatened  chiefly  by  fire  on  land  and  by  the 
perils  of  the  sea^against  which  danger,  foresight  and  care  were 
only  partially  successful.  These  perils  were  first  grappled  with 
by  those  whose  fortunes  had  rested  in  ships'  bottoms,  probably 
because  they  were  foremost  to  realize  how  much  was  at  stake — on 
sea  and  then  on  land. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  times  were  getting  ripe  for  insurance 
along  systematic  lines  and,  although  full  fruition  was  still  more 
than  a  decade  away,  there  is  added  zest  to  the  study  of  the  men 
who  made  the  beginning,  some  of  whom  were  to  see  their  fondest 
expectations  exceeded. 


1    12    ] 


Ill 

THE  MEN  AND  THE  MEANING 

HARTFORD  was  producing  sturdy  men.  As  in  the  rest 
of  the  seaboard  states,  the  West  Indian  trade  was  the 
source  of  many  of  the  fortunes.  The  city,  practically 
the  head  of  navigation  in  the  Connecticut  River,  had  a  large  foreign 
commerce  in  those  days;  even  at  a  somewhat  later  date  it  was 
written  of  the  town  by  "Peter  Parley"  that  it  "smelled  of  tobacco 
and  Jamiaica  rum."  Advertisements  of  leading  merchants  included 
in  the  lists  of  "goods  just  arrived"  about  everything  from  Madeira 
wine  to  china  ware. 

In  Hartford,  then,  as  at  the  beginning  in  London,  the  attention 
of  underwriters  was  given  first  to  vessels  and  cargoes,  and  Sanford  & 
Wadsworth  led  the  way  in  applying  the  principles  to  the  insurance 
of  land  property.  Their  Imlay  policy  was  dated  February  8, 
1794;  on  the  1 0th  of  the  following  March  they  published  a  small 
card  in  the  Hartford  Courant  saying: 


HARTFORD   FIRE  INSURANCE-OFFICE 

The  subscribers  have  this  day  opened  an  office  for 
the  purpose  of  insuring  Houses,  Houshold  Furniture, 
Goods,  Wares,  Merchandise  etc  against  Fire. 

Sanford  &  Wadsworth. 
Hartford,  10  th  March,  1794. 


The  men  who  constituted  this  "office"  or  association  were  chief 
among  those  who  had  helped  establish  the  Hartford  Bank.  They 
were  Colonel  Wadsworth,  Major  John  Caldwell  and  John  Morgan, 
men  whose  names  inspired  confidence.  Sanford  &  Wadsworth 
acted  as  their  agents. 

Colonel  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  was  one  of  the  country's  most 
eminent  financiers.  Son  of  the  Rev  Daniel  Wadsworth,  pastor 
of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Christ  (founded  by  Thomas 


13 


Hooker  and  the  first  of  its  denomination  in  the  state),  he  was  born 
in  Hartford  July  12,  1743.  By  the  time  he  was  30  years  of  age,  he 
had  become  a  skillful  sailing  master  and  had  established  a  promising 
business  in  his  native  town.  Offering  his  services  to  his  country 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  his  talents  won  him  rapid  promotion 
till  in  1778  he  was  commissary  general  and  later  held  like  rank  in 
the  army  of  the  French  allies  until  the  end  of  the  war.  Both  Robert 
Morris  and  Alexander  Hamilton  consulted  with  him  freely,  coming 
here  for  that  purpose  as  had  Washington,  Lafayette,  Rochambeau 
and  other  officers  during  the  war.  Ten  years  before  he  helped 
found  the  Hartford  Bank,  the  colonel  had  been  one  of  the  original 
subscribers  for  the  Bank  of  North  America  in  Philadelphia,  to  the 
extent  of  one  hundred  and  four  shares  of  par  value  of  $400  a  share. 
By  the  desire  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  he  was  made  president  of 
the  Bank  of  New  York  in  1785  and  he  was  a  director  in  the  first 
United  States  Bank. 

Connecticut  he  served  in  the  Continental  Congress,  in  the 
Constitutional  Convention  and  for  three  terms  in  the  Federal 
Congress.  At  home  his  affairs  were  greatly  prospered,  he  was  a 
promoter  of  worthy  enterprises  and  he  gave  abundantly  of  his  advice 
as  of  his  wordly  goods.  For  a  time  he  held  the  exalted  position  of 
judge  of  the  county  (superior)  court.  At  his  death,  April  30,  1804, 
his  son  Daniel  inherited  his  vast  wealth. 

Major  John  Caldwell,  whom  also  we  have  seen  in  the  work  of 
organizing  the  Hartford  Bank  of  which  he  was  the  first  president, 
was  a  ship  builder  and  owner  as  well  as  a  merchant.  Twenty  times 
he  was  representative  in  the  Connecticut  General  Assembly  and 
with  Judge  John  Trumbull,  the  poet  and  author  of  "McFingal", 
and  John  Morgan,  as  a  commission  of  three,  had  charge  ot  the 
erection  of  the  beautiful  statehouse  in  Hartford  (now  the  City  Hall), 
designed  by  Bulfinch  and  begun  in  1794,  the  year  of  the  first  formal 
fire  insurance. 

The  major  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  building  the  bridge 
across  the  Connecticut  River  at  Hartford  in  1809  and  helped  to 
establish  in  Hartford  the  first  school  in  the  United  States  for  teaching 
deaf  mutes,  the  present  American  School  at  Hartford  for  the  Deaf. 
His  title  of  major  came  to  him  as  commander  of  the  First  Company, 
Governor's  Foot  Guard,  chartered  in  1771  chiefly  to  do  escort  duty 
for  the  governor;  its  membership  always  has  included  prominent 
business  and  professional  men  and  its  list  of  commanders  is  one 

[  14] 


of  Hartford's  honor  rolls.  Major  Caldwell  was  the  grandfather 
of  Colonel  Samuel  Colt  of  Hartford  who  invented  the  revolver. 
His  firm,  John  Caldwell  &  Co.,  suffered  heavily  hy  the  War  of  l8i2 
and  in  1818  he  retired  from  active  pursuits,  dying  May  20,  1838, 
aged  83. 

John  Morgan  was  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  of  his  genera- 
tion. He  and  Caldwell  wore  the  kneebreeches,  silver  buckles  and 
ruffled  shirt-fronts  of  colonial  days  to  the  last.  In  every  way  his 
personality  made  itself  felt,  not  always  for  his  own  peace  of  mind, 
as  when  in  e.xcited  conversation  he  let  slip  the  very  words  he  had 
used  in  their  solemn  and  proper  connection  when  reading  the  service 
of  a  Sunday  at  Christ  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  graduated  at 
Yale  in  1772.  The  street  leading  to  the  Connecticut  River  bridge, 
for  which  he  also  was  a  commissioner,  bears  his  name.  The  largest 
contributor  tow^ard  the  fund  for  its  construction,  he  was  president 
of  the  bridge  company  from  1809  till  1820.  The  fortune  which  he 
had  amassed  in  the  foreign  trade  was  mostly  dissipated  during  the 
trying  times  of  the  War  of  18 12  and  after.  He  lived  to  the  good  old 
age  of  four  score  and  nine,  dying  in  New  York  September  19,  1842. 

The  Sanford  of  the  agency  was  Peleg  Sanford  who  was  Colonel 
Wadsworth's  confidential  clerk. 

The  Wadsworth  was  Daniel  Wadsworth  who  inherited  with 
his  wealth  the  distinction  of  being  Hartford's  first  citizen.  He 
married  the  daughter  of  Jonathan  Trumbull  —  Connecticut's  Revo- 
lutionary War  governor  and  Washington's  "Brother  Jonathan" — 
and  the  old  Wadsworth  home  on  Main  street  continued  to  be  the 
chief  place  for  the  entertainment  of  distinguished  visitors  to  Hart- 
ford. Where  were  the  broad  grounds  of  the  family  mansion  now 
stands  the  Wadsworth  Atheneum,  on  a  site  given  by  him  along 
with  a  large  cash  subscription.  It  is  one  of  the  historical  and 
art  centers  of  New  England  with  the  Morgan  Memorial  Art  Gallery, 
the  Colt  Memorial  and  the  Hartford  Public  Library  grouping 
around  it,  the  Watkinson  Reference  Library  and  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society  within.  Still  rated  high  among  the  art  treasures 
there,  are  thirty  paintings  by  celebrated  artists  which  Daniel  Wads- 
worth bequeathed. 

A  visitor  to  Hartford  wrote  of  him:  "He  is  a  strange  youth. 
With  his  pockets  full  of  money  he  had  rather,  at  any  time,  sit  down 
at  home  betwixt  his  two  sisters,  and  by  some  new  act  of  tenderness 
call  forth  their  affection  toward  him  than  be  in  the  best  and  most 

[  '5] 


fashionable  company,  at  the  gaming  table,  or  in  any  place  where 
he  can  spend  his  money  in  an  honorable  and  polite  way.  'Tis  true 
as  it  is  strange;  and  furthermore  he  is  warmly  attached  to  the 
principles  of  virtue  and  morality,  and  really  is  not  ashamed  of  his 
God."  One  sketch  speaks  of  "the  simple  dress  of  Daniel  Wads- 
worth,  whose  big  gunboat  sleigh  plowed  the  drifts,  laden  with  food 
for  the  poor  and  delicacies  for  the  sick." 

This  Courant  advertisement  of  March  lo,  1794,  surely  was  the 
first  public  announcement  hereabouts  of  business  of  this  nature. 
The  demand  for  protection  had  been  increasing.  Some  means 
of  satisfying  the  risk  to  both  the  insurer  and  the  insured  were  much 
to  be  desired.  That  is  to  say,  this  sentiment  was  general  among 
men  of  affairs  who  then  as  now  realized  the  importance  not  only 
of  having  capital  at  a  given  moment  but  of  having  an  assurance 
of  the  perpetuation  of  that  capital;  it  was  to  require  the  greater 
part  of  the  century  to  convince  men  and  women  of  smaller  means 
that  insurance  was  fully  as  important  for  them,  if  not  more  so. 
Doubtless  few  things  that  the  financier  Wadsworth  ever  did  were 
more  popular  than  this  associating  with  himself  others,  including 
his  only  son,  who  could  be  absolutely  relied  upon  as  able  to  redeem 
their  pledges.  People  were  willing  to  pay  for  this  sense  of  security 
and  they  welcomed  the  departure  which  granted  insurance  on 
houses,  goods,  merchandise  and  the  like,  even  though  there  was 
not  to  be  wider  appreciation  of  it  until  some  years  later. 

Note  that  the  main  part  of  the  Imlay  policy  was  printed,  instead 
of  all  being  manuscript  as  had  been  the  custom  under  the  hap- 
hazard system.  The  only  handwriting  was  for  the  special  designa- 
tions, the  rate,  date  and  signature.  "Proposals"  and  "hazards" 
are  somewhat  limited  and,  as  has  been  shown,  the  whole  thing  is 
decidedly  primitive.  It  is  merely  the  crystallization  in  print  of  the 
most  approved  written  forms  of  those  days,  with  a  strong  odor 
of  salt  air  about  it.  The  fact  of  its  being  printed  and  being  under- 
written by  a  group  of  responsible  citizens  as  a  company  marks  the 
first  great  transition. 

Of  the  science  of  fire  insurance  as  practiced  today  there  is  hardly 
a  glimmer  in  this  policy.  A  business  of  the  modern  proportions 
must  have  science  as  an  ally — the  science  of  classification  and  of 
rate-making.  Discrimination  there  must  be  with  its  consequent 
beneficial  influence  upon  building  and  management,  all  working 
to  the  end  of  reducing  the  chances  of  destruction. 

[  16] 


f 


Every  man  properly  insured  knows  that  he  will  receive  indemnity 
for  his  loss.  In  order  that  diminution  of  the  world's  wealth  may 
be  as  little  as  possible  every  man  should  be  brought  to  feel  that 
that  must  be  done  which  can  be  done  to  prevent  fire  as  well  as  to 
extinguish  it  after  it  once  is  started.  Regulations  largely  inspired 
by  fire  insurance  have  worked  wonderful  changes  in  our  methods 
of  building,  in  the  appliances  installed  and  even  in  arranging  and 
caring  for  the  contents  of  the  buildings.  Not  only  are  the  policies 
coming  to  embody  the  spirit  of  these  regulations  but  the  Hartford 
Fire  Insurance  Company  every  year  sends  out  thousands  of  printed 
hints  and  rules  of  guidance  to  people  eager  to  learn  and  to  profit 
by  the  company's  exceptional  opportunities  for  observing. 

The  lessons  of  insurance  were  not  to  be  learned  in  a  day.  The 
original  association  was  to  be  modified  after  a  year's  existence  and 
later  to  pass  away  or  remain  dormant  until  the  men  who  had  com- 
posed it  or  their  associates  or  immediate  successors  should  re-estab- 
lish it  as  a  legal  corporation  with  perpetual  charter  and  with  the 
same  name  as  had  been  used  in  1794. 

It  seems  that  one  Elias  Shipman  —  who  also  will  appear  on 
the  subscription  list  of  18 10 — had  acquired  a  special  fondness  for 
insurance.  Having  looked  over  the  ground  in  New  Haven,  he 
was  convinced  that  there  should  be  a  branch  office  there,  and  to 
that  end  he  persuaded  Wadsworth,  Caldwell,  Morgan  and  their 
two  agents  to  form  a  copartnership,  with  himself  included.  The 
papers  were  drawn  July  27,  ijg^,  with  the  declared  intention  of 
"underwriting  on  vessels,  stock,  merchandise  etc,  by  the  firm 
of  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Insurance  Company."  Caldwell 
was  made  the  particular  representative  in  Hartford  and  Shipman 
in  New  Haven.  Perhaps  because  he  felt  confidence  enough  to 
walk  alone,  Shipman  left  the  firm  in  1797  and  set  up  an  office  of 
his  own  in  New  Haven,  eventually  under  the  charter  of  the  New 
Haven  Insurance  Company  (1798  to  1833)  of  which  he  was  presi- 
dent for  twenty-six  years. 

Sanford  went  to  New  Haven  and  the  firm  of  Sanford  &  Wads- 
worth  was  dissolved  in  1798.  Sanford  died  in  1801.  With  the 
partnership  passed  the  association  known  as  the  "Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company."  Not  into  oblivion,  however,  was  that  happy 
combination  of  words  to  go,  since  it  soon  was  to  be  revived  never 
more  to  disappear  till,  as  an  agent  of  the  company  once  put  it, 
"the  great  conflagration  when,  it  is  said,  'the  heavens  shall  be  rolled 

[  •?] 


together  as  a  scroll  and  the  elements  melt  with  fervent  heat.'  Then, 
and  not  until  then,  with  her  policies  all  cancelled,  may  she  'climb 
the  golden  stairs'  and  open  the  first  office  in  the  New  Jerusalem." 

The  way  had  been  shown  and  the  spirit  of  the  old  association 
could  not  die.  For  a  period  it  manifested  itself  chiefly  in  marine 
underwritings  with  Ezekiel  Williams,  Jr.,  the  central  figure,  well 
supported  by  Caldwell  and  Morgan.  There  was  no  firm  or  company 
name  upon  the  insuring  contracts  but  the  individual  names  upon 
such  of  them  as  have  come  down  to  us  are  suggestive  of  the  recent 
past  and  of  the  early  future.  The  leading  names  are  John  Caldwell, 
Michael  Bull,  Thomas  Bull,  Asa  Hopkins,  Daniel  Hopkins,  Richard 
Alsop,  Normand  Knox,  John  Chenevard,  Ezekiel  Williams,  Jr., 
Thomas  Sanford,  John  Morgan,  Hudson  &  Goodwin,  William 
Howe,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Gleason  &  Cowles,  Hooker  &  ChaflFee, 
Spencer  Whiting,  Daniel  Jones,  John  Knox  and  Samuel  Alcott. 
In  1803  Caldwell  and  one  or  two  of  the  others  organized  a  marine 
company  with  the  Hartford  name  which  later  was  merged  in  the 
Protection  Fire  Insurance  Company  (1825  to  1854).  Most  of  the 
names  will  stand  out  prominently  in  the  story  of  the  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company  as  it  goes  on. 


1 


[  >8 


THE    ORIGINAL    AND    PRESENT    RECORD    BOOK 


IV 
A  MEMORABLE  DAY,  JUNE  27,   1810 

A  BEAUTIFUL  June  day,  in  a  quaint  little  New  England 
village  huddled  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
was  June  27,  1810,  a  red-letter  day  in  the  history  of  Ameri- 
can progress.  Hartford  had  a  population  of  barely  6,000  and  it 
did  not  increase  except  by  900  in  the  next  ten  years.  It  had  been 
a  rather  self-contained  little  settlement  ever  since  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Hooker,  in  search  of  still  greater  religious  freedom,  broke  away 
from  the  Massachusetts  Colony  and  in  1636,  with  his  sick  wife  and 
a  few  followers,  made  his  way  on  foot  through  the  wilderness  to 
this  spot,  got  rid  of  the  Dutch  and  the  Indians  and  proceeded  to 
frame  up  the  first  written  constitution  the  world  ever  saw. 

To  the  north  of  the  statehouse  green,  which  was  a  little  back 
from  the  river,  was  one  of  the  most  imposing  buildings  of  the  town, 
built  as  a  residence  by  the  wealthy  John  Morgan  in  1794.  Well 
shaded  by  stately  elms,  it  had  become  in  1810  a  commodious  and 
inviting  hostelry,  dear  to  the  hearts  of  travelers  between  New  York 
and  Boston,  the  resort  of  the  town's  fashionable  set,  the  meeting 
place  for  business  men  and  church  men.  Ransom's  Inn. 

In  the  assembly  room  were  held  fortnightly  "assemblies" 
through  the  winter,  subscribed  for  by  men  whose  names  appeared 
on  the  rolls  of  the  church,  the  Legislature  and  Congress.  They 
were  a  godly  but  pleasure-loving  people  of  means.  The  old  books 
show  that  their  assemblies  were  attended  not  unfrequently  by  as 
many  as  twenty-five  couples  and  that  they  had  wine,  porter  and 
brandy. 

On  this  June  27,  there  had  been  more  than  the  usual  stir  and 
activity  about  the  inn.  Everyone  had  known  that  there  was  to  be 
a  meeting  there,  at  10  o'clock,  of  the  subscribers  to  a  bona  fide 
insurance  company,  the  charter  for  which  had  been  granted  at  the 
May  session  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  charter  had  been 
debated  long  and  carefully  before  it  was  submitted  to  the  General 
Assembly.  Charters  were  not  such  unfamiliar  things,  but  a  charter 
for   a   fire   insurance   company — that   was   another   matter.     How 

[  21  ] 


much  capital  ought  there  to  be  and  what  kind  of  property  ought 
the  company  to  hold  ?  Further  and  equally  important,  how  should 
the  prescription  read  for  handling  fire  insurance  ?  Few  of  the 
rocks  in  the  sea  ahead  of  them  had  been  marked,  in  America  or  in 
any  other  country.  The  charter,  as  signed  by  Governor  Treadwell, 
read  as  follows : 

AN  ACT  TO   INCORPORATE  THE  HARTFORD  FIRE 
INSURANCE  CO. 

PASSED  AT  A  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  CONNECTICUT, 

HOLDEN   AT    NEW    HAVEN,    IN    SAID    STATE,    ON    THE    SECOND    THURSDAY    OF 
MAY,  IN   THE    YEAR   OF    OUR    LORD    ONE    THOUSAND 
EIGHT   HUNDRED    AND   TEN: 

1.  Be    IT    ENACTED    BY  THE    GOVERNOR  AND    COUNCIL,  AND  HoUSE  OF 

Representatives  in  General  Court  assembled.  That  the  subscribers  to 
the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company,  their  successors  and  assigns,  shall  be 
and  are  hereby  created  and  made  a  corporation  and  body  politic,  by  the 
name  and  tide  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  by  that 
name  shall  be  and  are  hereby  made  capable  in  law  to  have,  purchase,  receive, 
possess,  and  enjoy,  to  them  and  their  successors,  lands,  rents,  tenements, 
hereditaments,  goods,  chattels,  and  effects  of  whatever  kind  or  quality. 
Also,  bank  stock  of  any  bank  within  the  United  States,  and  the  same  to  sell, 
grant,  alien,  and  dispose  of,  and  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  plead  and  be  im- 
pleaded, defend  and  be  defended,  in  all  courts  in  this  State  and  other  places 
whatsoever.  Also,  to  have  and  use  a  common  seal,  the  same  to  break  and 
renew  at  pleasure.  Also,  to  ordain  and  put  in  execution  such  by-laws  and 
regulations  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  and  convenient  for  the  well  ordering 
and  governing  said  corporation,  not  being  contrary  to  this  charter,  or  the 
laws  of  this  State  or  of  the  United  States.  To  do  and  execute  all  and  singular 
the  matters  and  things  which  to  them  shall  or  may  appertain:  subject  to 
the  rules,  restrictions,  and  provisions  hereinafter  provided. 

2.  The  capital  stock  of  said  company  shall  be  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  to  be  divided  into  shares  of  fifty  dollars  each,  which  shall 
be  paid  in  the  following  manner,  viz. :  five  per  centum  shall  be  paid  in 
thirty  days  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  and  five  per  centum  more  shall  be 
paid  within  sixty  days  after  the  passing  of  this  act;  and  the  remainder  shall 
be  secured  by  mortgage  on  real  estate,  or  by  indorsed  notes  payable  thirty 
days  after  demanded  by  the  president  and  directors;  and  all  notes  given 
for  the  payment  of  the  installment  aforesaid,  shall  be  payable  to  order,  and 
indorsed  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  president  and  directors. 

3.  That  for  the  well  ordering  the  affairs  of  said  corporation,  there 
shall  be  nine  directors  chosen  on  the  first  Thursday  of  June  annually  (after 

[22] 


the  first  election),  by  the  greatest  number  of  votes  given  by  the  stockholders 
of  said  company,  at  a  general  meeting.  And  those  who  shall  be  duly  chosen 
at  any  election  shall  be  capable  of  serving  as  directors  until  the  expiration 
of  the  first  Thursday  of  June  next  ensuing  such  election.  And  the  directors, 
at  their  first  meeting  after  such  election,  shall  choose  one  of  their  number 
for  a  president. 

4.  The  number  of  votes  each  stockholder  shall  be  entitled  to  in  the 
choice  of  directors,  or  any  other  business  respecting  the  interest  or  concerns 
of  said  company,  shall  be  equal  to  the  number  of  shares  he  shall  hold. 

5.  All  stockholders  shall  be  entitled  to  vote,  by  themselves,  or  their 
agents  duly  appointed.  None  but  stockholders  shall  be  eligible  as  directors. 
Public  notice  shall  be  given  by  order  of  the  directors,  twenty  days  previous 
to  holding  an  election  or  general  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  in  a  newspaper 
published  in  the  city  of  Hartford,  and  in  such  other  places  as  the  directors 
shall  judge  necessary. 

6.  In  case  of  the  death  or  resignation  of  a  director,  his  place  may  be 
filled  by  a  new  choice  for  the  remainder  of  the  year,  provided  a  majority  of 
the  directors  judge  it  necessary.  All  elections  for  directors  shall  be  by 
ballot,  and  the  nine  persons  who  shall  have  at  any  election  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  shall  be  declared  to  be  duly  chosen. 

7.  The  directors  for  the  time  being  shall  have  power  to  appoint  such 
ofiRcers,  secretaries,  and  servants,  as  they  shall  judge  necessary;  and  shall 
be  capable  of  executing  such  other  powers  for  the  well  ordering  and  governing 
the  affairs  of  the  company  as  shall  be  deemed  for  the  best  interest  of  the 
same.  No  director  shall  be  entitled  to  any  emolument,  unless  the  same 
shall  be  ordered  by  the  stockholders  at  a  general  meeting. 

8.  Not  less  than  three  directors  shall  constitute  a  board  for  transacting 
business  of  the  company,  of  whom  the  president  shall  always  be  one,  except 
in  case  of  sickness  or  necessary  absence,  in  which  case  the  directors  present 
shall  supply  his  place  by  electing  one  of  their  number  as  president  for  the 
occasion. 

9.  Said  corporation  shall  keep  their  office  in  the  city  of  Hartford,  and 
may  make  insurance  on  dwelling  houses,  or  other  buildings,  on  ships  and 
vessels  of  every  description,  while  in  port  and  on  the  stocks,  also  on  goods, 
chattels,  wares  and  merchandise,  and  other  personal  estate,  of  every  name, 
nature,  and  description,  and  shall  be  liable  to  make  good  and  pay  to  the 
several  persons  who  shall  be  insured  by  the  said  corporation  for  all  losses 
they  may  sustain  by  fire  in  their  houses  or  other  buildings,  ships,  or  vessels, 
goods,  chattels,  wares,  merchandise,  or  other  personal  estate,  as  aforesaid, — 
provided  always,  that  no  stockholder  shall  be  liable  for  any  loss  or  damage, 
or  be  responsible  in  their  person  or  property  other  than  the  property  vested 
in  the  capital  and  fund  of  the  corporation. 

10.  The  stock   of  said  corporation   shall  be  transferable  according  to 

[  23] 


such  rules  as  the  directors  shall  institute,  and  every  subscriber  of  any  share 
or  shares  in  said  stock  who  shall  neglect  to  pay  according  to  the  installments 
aforesaid,  or  secure  the  payment  of  the  residue  of  said  share  or  shares  as 
aforesaid,  shall  forfeit  to  the  corporation  such  share  or  shares,  and  all  pay- 
ments made  thereon,  and  all  profits  which  may  have  arisen  therefrom. 

11.  All  notes  or  policies  of  insurance  signed  by  the  president,  and 
countersigned  by  the  secretary,  shall  be  binding  and  obligatory  on  said 
corporation,  according  to  the  terms  and  tenor  thereof;  and  all  notes  made 
by  any  subscriber,  for  the  payment  of  their  installments,  and  all  notes  in 
writing  which  shall  be  made  and  signed  by  any  person  or  persons,  his,  her, 
or  their  agent  or  servant,  who  is  usually  intrusted  by  him,  her,  or  them, 
said  notes  being  given  for  the  payment  of  money  only,  and  made  payable 
to  any  person  or  persons,  his,  her,  or  their  order,  or  to  the  bearer,  and  indorsed 
over  to  the  corporation,  shall  be  assignable,  or  indorsable  over  in  the  same 
manner  as  inland  bills  of  exchange  are  or  may  be  according  to  the  custom 
of  merchants;  and  said  corporation  to  which  the  same  shall  be  indorsed 
shall  and  ma}'  maintain  their  action  thereupon  for  the  money  promised  in 
said  note  against  the  person  who,  or  whose  agent  as  aforesaid,  shall  sign  the 
same,  or  any  of  the  persons  who  shall  indorse  the  same,  in  like  manner  as 
in  case  of  inland  bills  of  exchange;  and  the  directors  may  loan  the  money 
of  the  company  upon  such  security  as  they  shall  think  fit,  and  may  purchase 
for  the  company  any  of  the  funded  debt  of  the  United  States,  or  bank  stock, 
or  dispose  of  the  same  at  their  discretion,  and  shall  once  in  six  months  make 
such  dividend  of  the  profits  as  they  shall  think  proper. 

12.  The  stockholders  in  a  general  meeting  may  hereafter,  if  they 
judge  expedient,  enlarge  the  capital  of  said  company  to  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

13.  If  it  should  happen  for  any  cause  whatsoever  that  the  election  of 
directors  should  not  take  place  in  any  year  on  the  day  herein  for  that  pur- 
pose mentioned,  said  corporation  shall  not  for  that  reason  be  dissolved,  but 
such  election  may  thereafter  be  held  on  such  convenient  day  as  may  for  that 
purpose  be  fixed  on  by  the  directors,  they  causing  such  public  notice  thereof 
to  be  given  as  hereinbefore  required  for  an  election  on  the  days  hereby 
designated  for  that  purpose. 

14.  In  case  any  insured,  named  in  any  policy  or  contract  of  insurance 
made  by  the  said  corporation  hereby  created,  shall  sell  and  conveyor  assign 
the  subject  insured,  during  the  period  of  time  for  which  it  is  insured,  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  such  insured  to  assign  and  deliver  to  the  purchaser  such  policy 
or  contract  of  insurance,  and  such  assignee  shall  have  all  the  benefit  of  such 
policy  or  contract  of  insurance,  and  may  bring  and  maintain  a  suit  thereon 
in  his  own  name.  Provided,  that  before  any  loss  happens  he  shall  obtain 
the  consent  of  the  assurer  to  such  assignment,  and  have  the  same  indorsed 
or  annexed  to  the  said  policy  or  contract  of  insurance,  executed  and  signed 

[24] 


as  a  new  policy  or  contract  ought  to  be,  according  to  the  rules  hereafter  to 
be  prescribed  by  said  directors  for  that  purpose,  and  not  otherwise. 

15.  Daniel  Wadsworth,  Daniel  Buck,  and  David  Watkinson  are 
authorized  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  at  such  time  and  place  as 
they  shall  appoint;  to  notify  the  time  and  place  of  the  first  meeting.  And 
at  such  first  meetings,  the  stockholders  shall  have  power  to  choose  directors 
in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  for  at  their  annual  meeting,  and  the 
directors  so  chosen  shall  hold  their  offices,  with  all  the  powers  given  to 
directors  by  this  act,  until  the  first  Thursday  in  June  next  ensuing  said 
election.  Provided,  that  this  act  may  at  any  time  be  altered,  amended,  or 
revoked  by  the  General  Assembly. 

General  Assembly,  May  Session,  1810. 

LYMAN   LAW,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
JOHN  TREADWELL,  Gover„or. 
Attest,  THOMAS  DAY,  Secretary. 

Thus  the  cash  at  the  outset  was  to  be  but  $15,000.  The  remainder 
was  to  be  secured  by  real  estate  mortgages  and  thirty-day  notes 
endorsed  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  president  and  directors  and 
payable  to  their  order.  This,  which  would  seem  so  amazing  today, 
gives  a  good  cue  to  the  financial  conditions  and  customs  of  the 
period.  Fortunes  were  built  up  by  prudence  and  industry,  not 
by  speculation  as  is  so  often  the  method  attempted  today.  The 
secured  note  of  a  man  of  affairs  could  well  be  accepted  at  the  bank 
for  a  loan  to  meet  the  insurance  company's  losses — as  they  were 
sometimes  offered  and  accepted.  And  only  men  of  means  were 
subscribers  to  the  company's  stock,  most  of  them  intimate  friends 
and  associated  in  other  enterprises.  To  be  sure,  they  calculated 
that  profits  would  make  payment  of  the  notes  unnecessary,  and 
as  to  how  their  expectations  were  realized  we  shall  see;  but  in  any 
event  those  notes  were  to  be  considered  as  good  as  gold. 

The  charter  provisions  for  investments  and  for  handling  the 
business  were  broad  enough  to  constitute  the  best  kind  of  foundation. 
There  have  been  but  eight  brief  amendments  all  told  to  keep  the 
charter  up  to  date  as  the  business  and  the  country  developed.  The 
first  was  in  June,  1853,  increasing  the  capital  to  $300,000 — an 
increase  of  only  $50,000  from  the  maximum  named  in  the  charter — 
and  making  each  share  $100  instead  of  $50.  May  27,  1857,  an 
amendment  was  adopted  to  add  to  the  capital  within  two  years 
2,000  shares  of  par  value  of  $100  each;    and,  after  the  two  years, 

[25] 


to  go  on  adding  to  the  capital  until  an  aggregate  of  5,000 
such  shares  was  reached  —  "which  said  additions  to  the  cap- 
ital shall  be  made  from  the  surplus  earnings  of  said  company, 
and  shall  be  divided  pro  rata  among  the  persons  who  may  be 
stockholders  at  the  time  or  times  when  such  additions  shall  be 
made." 

The  third  amendment  was  for  an  increase  to  30,000  shares  or 
^3,000,000,  the  additions  to  be  made  when  and  as  the  directors 
should  deem  proper,  and  stockholders  should  be  entitled  to  pro 
rata  share.     The  date  of  that  was  June  8,  1865. 

The  fourth  amendment,  June  6,  1867,  allowed  fifteen  directors 
instead  of  nine.  The  fifth,  July  3,  1869,  struck  out  the  words 
"while  in  port"  in  Section  g,  inserted  the  words  "or  other  securi- 
ties" in  Section  11,  struck  out  the  words  "six  months"  and  sub- 
stituted "from  time  to  time" — for  declaring  dividends.  The 
sixth  amendment,  in  1882,  and  the  seventh,  in  1895,  had  to  do 
with  the  date  of  annual  meeting — the  former  fixing  it  for  the  month 
of  February  and  the  latter  for  either  January  or  February.  The 
one  in  1882  also  provided  that  vacancies  on  the  board  could  be 
filled  by  the  board  itself,  the  new  directors  serving  till  next  annual 


meetmg. 


The  eighth  amendment,  April  2,  1909,  permits  the  company 
to  insure  against  damage  or  loss  to  all  kinds  of  property  by  the 
elements,  including  fire,  lightning,  tornado,  wind  and  hailstorms; 
also  against  marine  disaster  and  the  hazards  of  inland  navigation 
and  transportation;  also  against  leakage  from  sprinklers  installed 
to  protect  against  fires;  against  loss  or  damage  by  explosions, 
with  or  without  fire — steam  boiler  explosions  excepted;  and 
further  to  insure  against  damage  to  automobiles  resulting 
from  fire  or  the  hazards  of  transportation  and  marine  naviga- 
tion, from  theft  of  any  of  their  parts  or  equipment  and  from 
collisions. 

Imagine  Nathaniel  Terry  and  his  friends  having  foreseen 
automobiles  or  the  possibility  of  indemnifying  for  loss  by  wind  or 
hail! 

The  amended  charter  itself  tells  the  story  of  the  company's 
growth.  A  particular  point  of  value  is  lost  if  we  do  not  note  that 
this  is  a  perpetual  charter — not  limited  as  are  those  of  many  other 
companies.  To  this  original  document,  the  subscribers,  with  the 
amounts  of  their  subscriptions,  were: — 

[26] 


Hudson  &  Goodwin, loo 

David  Daggett, loo 

Shipman  Denison  &  Co.,    ...  60 

Nathan  Smith, 20 

Charles  Denison, 20 

Edward  VVatkinson, 40 

James  B.  Hosmer  &  Co.,    ...  20 

Luther  Savage  &  Co.,     ....  50 

Harry  Pratt, 10 

Andrew  Kingsbury,      20 

Daniel  Wadsworth, 80 

Mehitable  Wadsworth,     ....  50 

Jacob  Sargeant, 20 

Ebenezer  Barnard, 50 

John  Russ, 40 

Nathaniel  Terry, too 

Horace  Burr, 10 

Chauncey  Goodrich 20 

William  H.  Imlay, 25 

Kimberly  &  Brace, 100 

Henry  Terry, 75 

Ward  &  Bartholomew,    ...  50 

Ward  Woodbridge, 50 

Samuel  Tudor,  Jr., 25 

Jonathan  Brace, 50 

Isaac  Bull, 25 

John  Sargeant,      50 

Thomas  Glover,    ....  -5° 

Roland  Lee, 40 

Henry  Newberry, 20 

Nehemiah  Hubbard,  Jr.,     ...  40 

Joseph  Hubbard,  2nd.,    ....  40 

David  Watkinson, 85 

Jeremiah  Brown, 40 

Samuel  Watkinson, 40 

Abigail  Hubbard, 40 

John  R.  Watkinson 40 

Walter  Mitchell, 25 

Enoch  Perkins, 20 

Daniel  Buck  &  Co., 100 

Caleb  Pond, 10 

Spencer  Whiting,  ....  30 


William  Moseley, 40 

Nathaniel  Patten, 100 

James  H.  Wells, 40 

James  R.  Woodbridge,  ...  20 

Frederick  Wolcott, 40 

John  R.  Landon, 20 

Seth  Terry, 10 

Eliphalet  Terry,  Jr.,    ....  20 

Caleb  Moore, 10 

George  W.  BoUes, 10 

Lewis  Strong, 43 

Joseph  Lyman, 44 

Theodore  Strong, 43 

Isaac  D.  Bull  &  Co 25 

Thomas  Chester, 30 

David  Porter, 40 

Joseph  Perkins, 40 

Peter  Lanman, 60 

John  W.  Holley,      25 

Isaac  Thompson, 50 

Joseph  Skinner, 50 

Joseph  Trumbull, 10 

Philo  Hillyer, lo 

Peter  W.  Gallaudet,    ....  10 

Joseph  Rogers, 10 

Elisha  Colt, 10 

Normand  Knox, 20 

Michael  Olcott, 10 

Jonathan  W.  Edwards,  ...  60 

Moses  Tryon,  Jr., 50 

Daniel  Lombard, 20 

Eli  Ely, 10 

Joseph  Pratt,  Jr.,    .    .  .10 

Charles  B.  King, 10 

Hitchcock  &  Wolcott,        .    .  15 

Williams  &  Perkins,   ...  20 

Elisha  Dodd, 10 

Daniel  Bunce,  Jr., 10 

Ephraim  Root, 35 

Dwell  Morgan, 20 

Samuel  Ledlie, 10 


[27] 


It  is  a  remarkable  list,  statesmen,  lawyers,  merchants,  members 
of  families  still  prominent  in  Connecticut  affairs — in  the  affairs 
of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company,  some  of  them;  not  a 
few  of  them  known  far  beyond  the  borders  of  the  state.  Daniel 
Wadsworth,  Morgan,  Whiting,  Hudson  &  Goodwin,  Shipman 
and  Knox  form  the  strong  connecting  link  with  the  original  so- 
called  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company.  Others  of  the  pioneers 
were  to  take  stock  in  the  company  later.  Decidedly  is  it  worth  while 
to  dwell  upon  these  names  of  the  people  who  attested  their  faith 
in  fire  insurance  by  forming  a  corporate  body  and  by  advancing 
the  capital  with  which  to  organize  it  and  make  it  efficient. 

Passing  by  the  names  with  which  we  are  familiar,  including 
that  of  Shipman  for  this  was  the  Elias  Shipman  of  the  copartner- 
ship of  1795,  we  come  to  that  of  James  B.  Hosmer.  Mr.  Hosmer 
was  renowned  for  his  benevolence  and  endowed  the  Hartford 
Theological  Seminary,  conspicuous  in  the  religious  history  of  the 
nation,  with  ^100,000  and  residuary  interest  in  his  estate.  William 
H.  Imlay,  dealer  in  hardware,  was  one  of  the  town's  leading  mer- 
chants and  most  public-spirited  citizens.  He  was  the  son  of  William 
Imlay,  the  holder  of  policy  "No.  2"  of  the  earlier  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company  (see  page  8).  Kimberly  &  Brace  were  a 
large  firm  of  grocers  engaged  in  the  West  Indian  traffic.  Jonathan 
Brace  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Hartford  Insurance  Company 
of  1803  which  did  a  marine  business.  At  various  times  he  was 
state's  attorney,  chief  judge  of  the  county  court  and  representative 
in  Congress. 

New  Haven,  Middletown  and  New  London,  sister  ports,  were 
well  represented,  which  fact  is  indicative  of  the  close  relationship 
formed  by  community  of  commercial  interests.  Charles  Denison, 
partner  of  Shipman's  in  New  Haven,  became  one  of  the  presidents 
of  the  New  Haven  Fire  Insurance  Company  which  was  organized 
in  1813  (and  which  was  reinsured  by  the  Hartford  in  1822).  The 
Frederick  Wolcott  of  Litchfield  was  one  of  the  well  known  Wolcott 
family  and  himself  was  clerk  of  the  Litchfield  county  court. 

Enoch  Perkins,  an  eminent  lawyer,  was  state's  attorney.  Ward 
&  Bartholomew,  military  goods,  were  among  the  town's  most 
enterprising  merchants.  Eliphalet  Terry  was  to  become  one  of 
the  greatest  presidents  of  the  company;  he  was  a  cousin  of  Nathaniel 
Terry,  the  first  president.     Seth  Terry  was  a  lawyer. 

Elisha    Colt  was   for   thirteen   years   comptroller   of  the   state. 

[28] 


¥1  I  .  -^   I 


.^  t 


^^ 


li 


III 

K 


The  public  offices  held  by  Chauncey  Goodrich  during  his  lifetime 
were  those  of  supreme  court  judge,  lieutenant  governor,  congress- 
man and  United  States  senator.  Normand  Knox,  one  of  the  earliest 
underwriters,  deserves  further  notice  since  he  was  cashier  of  the 
Hartford  Bank  from  1799  to  18 14  and  was  secretary  of  the  local 
marine  insurance  company  organized  in  1803,  bearing  the 
name  of  Hartford  and  merged  in  the  Protection  Fire  Insurance 
Company  in  1825.  In  1814  he  became  president  of  the  new  Phoenix 
Bank.     Meantime  he  conducted  a  leather  store. 

Jacob  Sargeant  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  bar  and  a  large 
property  owner.  The  firm  of  E.  Terry  &  Co.  was  engaged  in 
general  merchandizing.  Luther  Savage  &  Co.  dealt  in  flour  and 
feed.  Imported  dry-goods  formed  the  main  stock  in  trade  of  J.  R. 
Woodbridge  &  Co.,  Henry  Newberry,  Tudor  &  Hillyer  (Samuel 
Tudor  and  Philo  Hillyer  were  the  firm),  Henry  Pratt  and  John 
Russ.  Michael  Bull  imported  the  handsome  cassimeres  and 
broadcloths  the  men  wore  and  Isaac  Bull  had  one  of  the  largest 
drug  stores  in  Connecticut,  in  existence  today  under  another  name. 
Joseph  Trumbull,  who  put  his  name  down  for  a  modest  ten  shares, 
was  a  grandson  of  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull  and  was  himself 
to  be  governor  and  also  congressman.  For  a  time  he  was  president 
of  the  Hartford  Bank. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  some  of  this  first  issue  of  stock  never 
has  been  sold.  That  subscribed  for  by  John  Russ  was  passed  on 
to  Charles  J.  Russ  and  by  him  to  Charles  T.  Russ,  Charles  C.  Russ 
and  Henry  C.  Russ;  with  the  additions  that  have  been  made  to 
it,  it  is  held  today  by  the  estate  of  Charles  T.  Russ  and  by  Charles 
C.  and  Henry  C.  Russ  of  Hartford.  Part  of  the  shares  taken  by 
David  Lombard  were  left  to  John  Mills  and  Elsie  Lombard  in 
trust  for  Julia  L.  Chaffee,  the  present  owner,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Several  of  these  subscribers  were  to  become  directors  at  later 
periods. 

The  directors  chosen  at  this  first  meeting  were  Major  Nathaniel 
Terry,  Nathaniel  Patten,  David  Watkinson,  Daniel  Buck,  Thomas 
Glover,  Thomas  K.  Brace,  James  H.  Wells,  Ward  Woodbridge  and 
Henry  Hudson. 


[3-  ] 


THE  FIRST  MANAGEMENT 

CONSPICUOUS  in  this  group  of  directors  who  tarried  after 
the  others  had  left  the  inn  was  Major  Terry,  frequently 
called  general.  With  his  six  feet  four,  erect  carriage  and 
rather  imperious  manner,  he  did  look  the  ideal  general.  He  was 
the  progenitor  of  one  of  the  bravest  generals  of  the  Civil  War  and 
of  the  Indian  campaigns,  Alfred  H.  Terry  of  New  Haven.  Henry 
Baldwin  writes  thus  of  the  gossip  about  the  major:  "The  harmless 
gossip  was  that  he  would  fell  a  man  to  the  earth  without  stopping 
to  think;  but  in  his  gentler  moods  he  would  stuff  the  pockets  of 
little  vagabonds  with  the  plums  from  his  garden  and  when  he  walked 
the  streets  he  was  encompassed  about  by  a  flock  of  children  who 
knew  his  sunny  side." 

The  major  had  passed  his  forty-second  birthday  anniversary 
on  the  January  20  preceding  this  occasion.  We  see  him,  then, 
in  the  full  prime  and  glory  of  his  vigorous  manhood,  a  natural 
leader  and  a  most  persuasive  debater.  This  very  active  force  in 
the  life  of  the  day  was  born  in  Enfield,  of  the  same  stock  with  several 
others  who  did  credit  to  their  times.  He  was  a  son  of  Nathaniel 
Terry,  of  ancient  English  family.  After  being  graduated  at  Yale 
College  in  1786,  he  studied  law  but  did  not  open  an  office  in  Hart- 
ford until  1796.  For  twelve  sessions  he  represented  the  town  in 
the  General  Assembly.  He  was  judge  of  the  county  court  from 
1807  to  1809.  In  18 1 7  he  was  sent  to  Congress  where  he  served 
until  1819.  Meantime,  in  1818,  he  was  delegate  to  the  convention 
which  produced  the  constitution  that  has  been  in  force  in  Connecti- 
cut ever  since.  From  1 8 19  to  1828  he  was  president  of  the  Hartford 
Bank.  Elected  mayor  of  the  city  in  1824,  he  was  re-elected  repeat- 
edly, holding  the  office  for  seven  years.  His  title  of  major  came 
from  his  position  as  commander  of  the  First  Company,  Governor's 
Foot  Guard  (1802-1813).  The  major's  wife  was  Colonel  Jere- 
miah Wadsworth's  daughter  Catherine,  whom  he  married  in  1798. 
He  died  in  New  Haven  at  the  age  of  76. 

A  shrewd,  far-sighted   business  man  is  what  one  would  have 

[32] 


called  David  Watkinson  who  was  listening  intently  to  every  word 
of  Major  Terry's  but  himself  was  saying  little.  He  was  nine 
years  the  major's  junior  and  was  hardly  more  than  beginning  to 
win  his  spurs  in  the  commerce  of  the  town.  He  had  come  in  1795 
from  England,  where  he  was  born,  in  Lavenham,  County  of  Suf- 
folk, January  17,  1777.  After  beginning  as  a  merchant's  clerk  in 
Middletown,  Conn.,  and  after  a  short  experience  in  New  York,  he 
had  come  to  Hartford,  and  at  the  age  of  23,  with  his  brother  William, 
had  opened  a  hardware  mercantile  house  which  was  to  yield  him  a 
handsome  fortune.     In  1841  he  retired  from  active  business  life. 

A  man  of  the  highest  Christian  ideals,  a  member  of  the  Center 
Church,  he  gave  freely  but  wisely  and  was  prominent  in  all  good 
works.  He  subscribed  $100,000  for  the  Wadsworth  Atheneum, 
previously  referred  to,  and  gave  a  residuary  interest  in  his  estate 
for  the  Watkinson  Reference  Library  established  in  connection 
with  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  with  $5,000  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  building — one  of  the  most  practical  bequests  made 
by  any  citizen  of  Hartford  before  or  since.  He  also  left  a  good 
sum  for  the  Hartford  Hospital  and  abundant  funds  for  establishing 
the  Watkinson  Farm  School  in  connection  with  the  Orphan  Asylum. 

To  a  man  of  this  sound  business  sense  the  outlook  for  the  Hart- 
ford Fire  Insurance  Company  appealed  strongly.  His  good  works 
live  after  him  for  Hartford  in  the  library,  the  Atheneum,  the  hospital 
and  the  school,  and  for  the  whole  country  in  the  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company  which  his  wisdom  helped  establish. 

Thomas  Glover,  James  H.  Wells,  Nathaniel  Patten  and  Henry 
Hudson,  all  were  men  whose  fine  acumen  was  giving  Hartford 
high  repute  in  the  world  of  commerce  which  had  been  developing 
since  the  dawn  of  the  new  century.  They  had  seen  the  practical 
value  of  underwriting  and  had  been  witnesses  of  its  shortcomings 
under  the  old  system.  They  needed  not  the  persuasive  words  of 
Terry  to  make  them  appreciate  the  wisdom  of  the  step  that  was 
being  taken  on  this  June  27,  18 10;  they  were  of  one  mind  with 
Terry  and  Watkinson  and  all  the  others. 

Thomas  Glover  was  a  thrifty  dry-goods  merchant  with  a  rapidly 
increasing  business  at  home  and  abroad.  James  H.  Wells  supplied 
tools  for  Hartford  and  the  countryside.  He  was  making  a  specialty 
of  "patent  glass  paper"  this  summer  of  1810.  Nathaniel  Patten, 
of  the  Norwich  family  of  Patten,  had  a  printing  establishment 
and  by  prudent  investments  was  acquiring  a  competency. 

[33] 


Henry  Hudson  was  a  son  of  Barzillai  Hudson  of  the  firm  of 
Hudson  &  Goodwin,  publishers  of  the  Courant.  With  his  father 
and  brothers  he  had  manufacturing  interests.  The  Oakland  Paper 
Company  of  Oakland,  Manchester,  a  few  miles  from  Hartford, 
is  the  successor  to  the  Hudson  Brothers'  paper  mill  established 
there  in  the  '30's  when  Henry  Hudson  bought  a  saw  mill  and  con- 
verted it  into  a  paper  mill.  Henry  Hudson  always  held  a  high 
place  in  the  community  and  was  mayor  of  Hartford  from  1836  to 
1840. 

Ward  Woodbridge  was  the  wealthiest  man  in  Hartford  after 
Daniel  Wadsworth  and  William  Imlay.  He  was  one  of  a  family 
of  prominent  men.  They  were  descended  from  the  Rev.  John 
Woodbridge  of  Medbury,  Mass.,  who  came  from  England  in  1634 
and  was  ordained  October  24,  1645.  That  was  the  earliest  ordina- 
tion in  New  England.  The  Rev.  John  Woodbridge's  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Governor  Dudley  of  Massachusetts.  The  present 
vice  president  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company,  Richard 
M.  Bissell,  is  a  grandson  of  Ward's  brother,  Deodatus  Woodbridge. 
Ward  had  a  cotton  factory  in  Munson,  Mass.,  but  his  chief  enter- 
prise was  his  large  dry-goods  importing  establishment  on  Main 
street  in  Hartford.  On  relinquishing  his  business  interests  he  had 
acquired  a  large  estate.  After  his  retirement  from  active  com- 
mercial life  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  serve  as  president  of  the 
Hartford  Bank.     He  died  October  31,  1856,  at  the  ripe  age  of  86. 

Daniel  Buck  was  another  scion  of  sturdy  stock,  his  father  a 
large  landowner  and  farmer  in  the  nearby  town  of  Wethersfield. 
Mr.  Buck,  who  was  born  October  27,  1779,  was  a  merchant  (D. 
Buck  &  Co.,  general  store)  who  went  on  the  principle  "Nothing 
venture,  nothing  have,"  and  with  his  brother,  Dudley  Buck,  he 
acquired  the  ownership  of  a  line  of  steam  vessels  to  New  York  City. 
Mr.  Buck  died  in  Poquonock,  Conn.,  January  19,  i860. 

Another  among  those  who  tarried  at  Ransom's  Inn  that  morning 
to  complete  the  organization  of  the  company  was  Thomas  Kimberly 
Brace  of  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of  Thomas  K.  Brace  &  Co. 
His  rather  thin  features,  high  forehead  and  firm  mouth  showed 
him  to  be  a  keen,  energetic  man,  withal  one  who  was  not  lacking 
in  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  Born  October  16,  1779,  he  came 
of  a  distinguished  family  and  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1801.  He  was  to  become  first  president  of  the  JEtnz,  in  1819. 
From  1840  to  1843  he  was  to  be  mayor  of  the  city. 

[3+] 


One  of  the  busiest  of  the  group,  who  was  staying  after  the  stock- 
holders' meeting  not  because  he  had  been  chosen  a  director  but 
because  of  his  general  interest  and  because  as  one  of  the  legal  lights 
of  the  town  his  services  might  be  called  into  requisition,  was  Walter 
Mitchell.  He  had  the  front  of  a  Daniel  Webster,  his  long  wavy 
hair  thrown  back  boldly  from  his  high  forehead.  His  sparkling 
bright  eyes  had  a  suggestion  of  humor  in  them,  and  his  rather  con- 
siderable bulk,  perhaps,  predisposed  him  to  sedentary  occupation. 
His  home  was  in  Wethersfleld,  but  he  had  an  office  near  Ransom's 
Inn — just  the  other  side  of  the  Hartford  Bank,  near  where  the 
Hartford  Courant  building  now  stands.  His  high-keyed  voice 
could  be  heard  above  the  tones  of  the  others  as  they  came  out  into 
the  hallway,  and  once  in  a  while  a  peculiarly  merry  laugh  was 
evidence  that  he  was  enjoying  the  day.  Major  Terry  was  the  most 
commanding  presence,  impressively  dignified;  Mitchell,  the  most 
picturesque.  Donald  G.  Mitchell  of  New  Haven,  the  "Ik  Marvel" 
of  the  world  of  American  letters,  wrote  thus  when  asked  if  he  could 
recall  his  uncle : 

"Of  my  uncle  Walter  I  can  really  tell  you  very  little  —  save 
that  he  was  the  fourth  child  of  Chief  [Justice]  Stephen  Mix  Mitchell 
[also  United  States  Senator]  and  was  born  October  yth,  1777.  He 
died  in  the  year  1849.  ^7  ^^^'^  recollection  of  him  dates  back  to 
the  vacation  days  at  my  old  school  in  Ellington,  (somewhere  about 
1833,)  when  I  used  to  come  in  to  Hartford  upon  the  'Ware  & 
Keene'  coach,  and  seek  him  in  his  office  next  the  Hartford  Bank, 
and  usually  drive  over  with  him  to  the  old  homestead  in  Wethersfield. 
I  remember  him  in  those  days  as  a  bright-eyed,  somewhat  corpulent 
man,  with  snow  white  hair — full  of  all  good  advices  and  breaking 
out  now  and  then  into  a  laugh  that  was  very  musical  and  very 
contagious.  He  never  married — as  you  doubtless  know;  but 
was  cared  for  and  reverenced  during  all  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  by  two  devoted  sisters — one  of  whom  survived  him  many 
years. 

"I  cannot  remember  ever  encountering  any  testiness  in  him  or 
ill-humor,  but  he  always  seemed  to  me  abounding  in  a  cheeriness 
that  it  was  good  to  meet." 

Major  Nathaniel  Terry  was  the  one  candidate  for  president 
and  he  was  elected  promptly  by  the  directors.  Then  Squire  Mitchell 
was  appointed  secretary.     It  was  immediately 

"Voted,  That  the  money  from  the  first  instalment  be  deposited 

[35] 


in  the  Hartford  Bank  to  the  credit  ot  the  'Hartford  Fire  Insurance 
Company'  until  further  orders.* 

"  Voted,  That  when  money  of  this  company  is  drawn  from  the 
bank,  it  shall  be  done  by  checks  signed  by  the  president  and  counter- 
signed by  the  secretary. 

"Voted,  That  meetings  of  the  president  and  directors  be  held 
in  the  office  of  Walter  Mitchell  in  Hartford. 

"Voted,  That  the  secretary  purchase  such  books  and  stationary 
as  may  be  necessarv'  for  the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the  com- 
pany." 

So  the  office  was  to  be  in  Walter  Mitchell's  somewhat  bare  and 
dust)'  rooms  almost  in  the  shadow  of  the  statehouse  and  under 
the  eaves  of  the  paternal  Hartford  Bank,  a  most  fitting  location. 
The  chief  residences  were  practically  within  three  modern  city 
blocks  of  the  company's  office.  Between  the  office  and  the  river 
were  most  of  the  importing  houses. 

The  expense  of  furnishing  the  first  office  was  S21.25  according 
to  the  following  account  which  has  been  preserved  : 

1810  July  17     To  a  large  table  with  drawers,      .    .    .  $8.00 

To  cloth,  nails,  locke,  etc., 7-25 

24     To  removing  and  ( — r)  up  book  case,  .58 

Octo.  iQ     To  a  book  case, 6.00 


21.83 
■58 

21.25 


Rec'd.  payment  from  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company  and  fifty- 
eight  cents, 

.•\.^RON    COLTON. 

Squire  JVIitchell  evidently  would  not  allow  that  58  cents  in  the 
name  of  the  company. 

The  location  thus  easily  decided,  the  first  real  problem  was  how 
to  invest  the  company's  capital.  WTiile  opportunities  were  abun- 
dant, it  was  felt  strongly  by  these  men  that  the  money  should  go 
where  it  would  be  safe  not  only  for  the  present  but  through  the 
distant  future   into  which   they  were   dipping  hopetully  but  with 

*  Since  that  date  never  has  there  been  a  time  when  there  has  not  been  a  deposit  with  this  bank 
The  company  preserves  among  its  relics  its  first  bank  book. 

[36] 


little  to  guide  them  outside  of  their  own  sound  sense.  We  have 
seen  that  several  of  the  promoters  were  interested  in  the  Hartford 
Bank. 

The  decision  of  the  directors  is  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  their 
second  important  meeting  of  November  14,  18 10,  when  they  in- 
structed President  Terry  and  Nathaniel  Patten,  as  a  committee, 
to  obtain  by  subscription  or  purchase,  at  discretion,  not  exceeding 
forty  shares  of  the  Hartford  Bank  stock,  "pecuniary  funds"  to  be 
transferred  to  them  for  that  purpose.  Also  it  was  voted  to  obtain 
a  loan  from  the  bank  of  as  much  money  as  was  needed  for  the 
transaction. 

Eighteen  years  of  life,  with  wise  and  thrifty  management,  had 
put  the  bank  on  a  pretty  solid  basis.  The  stock  was  400  par  and 
the  premium  was  4  per  cent.  The  company  had  $15,000  in  cash. 
Forty  shares  would  cost  $16,640.  It  borrowed  $1,224  or  within 
$426  of  the  amount  required.  After  two  weeks'  consideration, 
it  was  decided  to  go  in  for  but  fourteen  shares  for  the  present,  which 
were  purchased  for  $5,824,  and  the  balance  was  left  in  the  treasury. 
Seven  years  later  the  company  owned  one  hundred  shares  which 
had  cost  $43,684.25.  The  subsequent  purchases  have  brought 
the  total  up  to  556  shares  for  which  $63,962.75  has  been  paid.  This 
stock  has  yielded  the  company  to  date  (1910)  $386,350.03.  The 
directors  chose  their  first  investment  well,  and  a  glance  at  the  lists 
of  securities  ever  since  reveals  that  their  successors  have  not  been 
behind  them  in  wisdom. 

Altogether  there  was  more  caution  and  conservatism  at  the 
launching  than  we,  with  revised  notions  as  to  notes,  might  think. 
Moreover,  the  faith  that  the  profits  would  take  care  of  the  paper 
was  to  prove  warranted.  The  first  year  there  were  no  losses 
whatever.  A  possible  reason  for  this  immunity  was  that  risks  were 
few.  There  was  no  solicitation  of  business,  and  of  risks  submitted 
to  the  office  only  those  were  accepted — the  whole  board  of  directors 
acting  upon  them — whose  ownership  and  condition  were  known 
to  be  of  the  best. 

Supplementing  the  observations  upon  insurance  in  1794,  it  is 
well  here  to  note  more  definitely  what  a  comparatively  new  thing 
under  the  sun  fire  insurance  was.  The  world  had  been  learning 
slowly.  Back  in  the  dim  ages,  there  sometimes  were  instances  of 
the  government's  compelling  contributions  to  make  good  the  losses 
by  fire,  and  there  is  in  Germany  today  a  survival  of  the  idea  of 

[37] 


government  insurance,  worked  out  and  fairly  well  adapted  to  the 
conditions  there  existing.  Also  there  were  communes  and  guilds 
for  insurance.  The  first  known  suggestion  from  private  individuals 
to  form  an  association  was  made  to  Count  Von  Oldenberg  in  1609. 
Nothing  much  came  of  that.  The  burning  of  London  proved  more 
efficacious  than  the  burning  of  Constantinople.  The  year  after 
the  great  London  fire,  one  Michael  Barbon  actually  opened  an 
office  in  that  city  with  a  well  formed  plan  of  in4emnifying  (or  "damni- 
fying") patrons  who  suffered  from  fire.  Yet  stock  companies  did 
not  appear  in  England,  which  was  leading  the  way,  until  17 10. 

In  America,  as  has  been  shown,  insurance  activity  was  confined 
mostly  to  separate  communities,  and  the  efforts  had  not  been  suf- 
ficiently successful  and  appreciated  to  warrant  the  embarking  of 
much  capital  in  such  ventures.  The  Philadelphia  Contribution- 
ship  (mutual)  was  the  first  company  to  be  organized  (1752)  and 
the  Assurance  Company  (mutual)  (Philadelphia,  1784,)  the  second. 
The  Insurance  Company  of  North  America  (Philadelphia,  1794,) 
was  the  first  stock  company.  By  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  a  few  other  companies  had  sprung  up  here  and  there  but 
generally  with  charters  limited,  that  is,  expiring  at  the  end  of  a 
certain  period.  Every  thing  marks  the  general  uncertainty.  Nor 
were  conditions  much  better  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The 
first  companies  in  New  York  were  chartered  to  conduct  fire,  marine 
and  life  insurance.  Most  of  those  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  had  special  charters  limiting  them  to  marine  insurance. 


[38  ] 


NATHANIEL    TERRY 

PRESIDENT 
1810-1835 


VI 
FIRST  PROPOSALS   AND   CONDITIONS 

TN  New  England,  with  its  foreign  trade,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  marine  insurance  was  the  more  impor- 
tant, as  has  been  noted,  and  for  its  forms  there  were  good 
patterns  in  the  mother  country.  In  1810  what  fire  insurance  com- 
panies existed  were  mostly  of  the  neighborhood  mutual  kind.  No- 
where had  a  worthier,  more  dependable  body  of  men  taken  hold 
of  the  subject  than  in  Hartford.  By  their  perpetual  charter  as  a 
stock  company  they  could  insure  ships  while  in  port  or  on  the  stocks, 
but  it  was  insurance  of  property  on  land  that  they  were  to  put  first. 
Notwithstanding  lack  of  their  own  or  others'  experience  as  a  guide 
in  certain  important  particulars,  success  would  be  theirs  if  they 
applied  the  same  principles  of  zeal  and  integrity  which  had  been 
theirs  in  their  more  familiar  pursuits  and  professions. 

Hartford  was  a  city  of  culture  and  its  citizens  were  of  the  worthi- 
est type.  F.  C.  Oviatt,  late  editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Intelligencer, 
in  a  lecture  in  the  insurance  course  at  Yale,  dwelt  upon  the  person- 
ality of  Colonel  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  as  an  example,  "so  that" — 
to  quote  his  language — "the  character  of  the  men  who  engaged 
in  early  Connecticut  underwriting  may  be  understood  and  the 
reason  why  Hartford  always  held  such  a  prominent  position  in  the 
underwriting  world.  It  is  because  men  of  brains,  means  and  faith 
established  the  business." 

The  men  of  the  Hartford  had  not  reached  the  stage  of  employing 
agents  but  they  did  know  something  of  the  merits  of  printers'  ink 
and,  for  this  new  thing  under  the  sun,  they  resolved  to  use  it  and 
use  it  liberally.  They  began  with  nearly  one  quarter  of  the  whole 
four-page  Hartford  Courant  on  August  i  of  this  first  year,  and 
had  like  broadsides  on  September  5  and  October  3.  No  such  dis- 
play ever  had  been  seen  before  in  the  staid  old  paper.  Here  again 
the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  way  ahead  of  its  times  — 
in  the  matter  of  attracting  and  educating  the  public.  Then  as  now, 
knowing  the  merits  of  its  product,  it  desired  that  all  the  world  should 
know  them. 

[41  ] 


As  revealing  to  us  how  serious-minded  men  introduced  the  novel 
subject  to  the  pubHc,  the  advertisements  are  well  worth  preserving 
in  these  pages.  Indeed,  if  we  pass  by  the  long  literary  screeds, 
the  communications  and  the  ship  letters  in  the  newspapers  of  that 
period,  we  always  can  get  valuable  information  from  the  advertise- 
ments; local  names  and  doings  rarely  are  mentioned  outside  of 
them — though  be  it  said  the  names  of  the  directors  of  the  Hartford 
Fire  were  published  in  italics  when  they  were  elected. 

Headed  by  a  cut  of  a  burning  building  the  advertisements  pro- 
claimed to  the  public  as  shown  on  opposite  page. 

Possibly  there  may  be  much  in  this  reading  to  bring  a  smile  to 
the  lips  of  the  modern  insurance  expert,  but  as  a  document  for  that 
period  —  for  the  same  was  embodied  in  the  policies — it  was  most 
remarkable.  The  classification  of  hazards  to  be  sure  is  crude  but 
many  of  the  clauses  defining  the  liability  of  the  company  as  well  as 
the  method  of  procedure  in  event  of  loss  have  been  tested  by  the 
experience  of  a  century  and  may  be  found  in  slightly  altered  form 
in  the  policies  which  are  being  issued  today. 

The  emblem,  now  so  well  known  throughout  the  country,  was 
suggested  by  the  name  of  Hartford  —  a  noble  old  hart  crossing  a  ford. 
The  full  emblem  has  a  shield  on  each  side  and  partly  concealed  by 
the  circular  representation  of  the  hart  and  the  ford.  That  to  the 
observer's  right  is  the  national  shield,  with  the  stars  and  stripes; 
that  to  the  left  is  the  Connecticut  shield  with  the  three  grape  vines. 
An  oak  garland  is  bound  to  the  shields  by  the  ribbon  on  which  is 
the  motto,  "Flammis  Quae  Correpta  Ruunt  Renovare  Cona- 
MUR,"  which,  being  freely  rendered,  means:  "We  undertake  to 
replace  [or  make  good]  that  which  has  been  destroyed  by  flames." 
Above  the  hart  and  ford  are  the  words  in  strong  letters:  "Incor- 
porated 1810";  below  the  central  representation:  "Charter  Per- 
petual." 

Thus  was  Squire  Mitchell  to  open  his  doors  to  such  as  wished 
to  present  applications  for  fire  insurance  under  these  conditions, 
on  August  6,  1810.  The  company's  doors  never  have  been  closed 
since  then. 


[42  ] 


HARTFORD  FIRE  INSURANCE  COMPANY. 
PROPOSALS 

FOR  INSURING 

HOUSES,  BUILDINGS,  STORES,  SHIPS  IN  HARBOUR,  AND  ON  THE 

STOCKS,  GOODS,  WARES,  AND  MERCHANDIZE, 

FROM  LOSS  OR  DAMAGE  BY  FIRE. 

The  HARTFOnO  FTBE  insurance  COMVANY  h.-mg  been  iworporaicd  by  the  LrBiiUnirc  oflhc  Sutt  of  ConnttiJcui  with  b  opiial  of  One  Hundred 
tci  rifiu  Thousand  DoUaii— "ilh  a  power  of  intirging  ihc  C.ipilal  lo  Two  liunilrcd  nntl  Fifty  Thouwnd  JDollars  ;  and  the  Capilal  pf  One  Hi'nd/rd  "nd  f 'ffy 
T>oii»riDollarB  being  alrtidy  paid  and  secured,  lo  be  paid  atcording  to  bw,  (he  Dirtciori  n<Tw  offn- (olhe  public  the  following  rtrm*  upon  whith  iboy  propow;  10 
frioduct  the  bmUicss  of  lV  Coiojiany 

AlallctaMei  of  Clii£t;iis  arc  cupoMd  to  great  clliffliiiri  frT>in  fire,  we  presume  thai  prudence  will  induce  thrm  to  pay  ilic  small  premium  ttliich  is  required  foi  an 
indemnity  againii  suJi  nt^cidents.  The  pracnee  of  pror iinnij  Iniurancc  against  tosses  from  fire,  has  abndy  become  very  gcnerM  through  (his  counliy,  tnd  »he 
Company  are  cOnl^deDl  iIul  the  extent  and  solidity  of  i>ieir  Umdn,  and  the  riirocu,  liberality  and  ptuinpliiude  with  «  hieh  they  sliall  ailjuit  tlic  claim i>  of  sgflcrtr*,  will 
cnsuTT  the  confidcocc  ^U'd  patronage  of  this,  and  the  ne.jl'rbounr^  Siatn. 

",*  No  Insured  Perso.i  will  l>c  habic  to  maiie  good  tlic  Losies  of  othen  ;  but  in  case  of  Fire,  the  Sufferer  will  be  fully  indemnified  to  the  tmount  inwrcd.— The 
Company  aLo  njkc  f.i»>J  Lwi^cs  on  Ptoj-erly  Ipui-hi  by  L^h'nlnc;. 


CUASSESof  HA2AHDS;  ami  JLlTES  of  ANNUAL  PREMIDMS  for  IXSURAKCE  apmii  FJRE. 


No.  I. 

Haiardi  ijftAe  Firii  Our. 
Brick  or  Stone  Duitdings,  corercd 
Kith  Stale,  Titcs,  or  MeUL 

Goods  not  biiardDUS    contuned  in 

such  Suiluing^ 


rJn 


No.  II. 

5/"  t/u  Second  Catt. 

one  Buildings,  eortred 


Goods  not  bszsrdout,  ^onUined  U 

■Ucll    i}>lllljlllgl. 


Forn 


No.  m. 

Hazard!  of  tilt  T/HrdOait. 

BuildinE*tHe  sides  of  c  tie  hi  re  part  of 

Briik  or  SXoAt,  and  p4rt  of  Wood 

Goods  not  hazardous,  contained  in 
such  buildings, 

Haiardoua  Goods,  coMiined  in  But- 
din^sor  the  Second  CUsi. 


11  net  fxaedi'g 

IO.O0O  DolUrj  in  one  Rick, 
Jf^Ctinflrr  100  DoU«r, f.tr  Jfrjni- 
•  S/3fu  in  Fori,  er  Itifir  Ca'^i,  SMpt  RrflaiTing  c 
tit  This  manner  of  Classins  Hsiards  will  elvea  general  idea  of  thcRsie^of  Ji 
■  c  Bisk  :   iue»i 


No.  iV, 

Jfazardi  t^the  Feuri/i'  Clail, 
Buildings.  <hr  sjdesof  which  are  ef 

lircly  of  Wood. 


Hsurdoui  Goods,  contained  1ft  Buil* 
dm^oftbc  ThirdClsu. 


For  ninn  nai  eictrding 
10,000  Dollars  in  one  Riik. 

;  may  it  Insurtdejt 

but  there  will  ntt^aiorily  be  onincreise  of  Ptei 


10,000  Dollin  in  one  Ritk, 
lOOCV*. /IfT  \QQDIU.  jnrr^ 


L»  joinine,  or  biinj  eonUEUOo: 
riremen  lo  the  town  or  Place,  i 
ir  dcuched,  or  ailendcd 


b'ooden   Duildinf^s,  or  Buildings 
■The  premiums  (T»ya1to>-n 
if  pecoliar  sccuriiy..— 


cues  where  the  lout  situsiion,  and  other 

occupied  in  csrrying  on  hsnrdous  Buunei^-diiUnce  fro'ii  W 

MineMses,  be  reduced  on  Wooden  Buildings  in  (heeourir;,  vhtn  sisndinj  single 

Ltrger  sums  than  t0,00o  Dollars  mi^  b&  insured  by  sp;dai  egreemenL 

IE7*  Soip  Boitet^  Tallou  Chjndlen,  Brewers,  Msliiieri,  BaVen,  Rope  Makers,  Sugar  ReRncrs,  Diidllcrs,  Chnniits,  Vsmish  Makers,  Stable 
Keepers,  Ta 'em  Keepers,  China,  Glass,  orF.afihenwarc  SeUeii,  Oil  atii  Colourmen,  Turpentine  Worki,  Pjper  Mjllsj  Priming  Housei,  Cooptrs, 
Carpentr-n,  Cabiael  Makers,  Coach  Mikcrl,  Boat  Duitders,  Shio  Ctmndlcrs,  Apolhcc^rics,  Theaires,  Mills  and  Msctiinery,  and  all  Mtnuficiaries  that 
use  Fire  Heal,  are  deeded  estra  haurdous,  and  muit  be  parilcubrly  deicrilied.fi  the  Polity,  snd  for  nil  such  Rijka  an  addi'.icnal  Premium  willberequicrd. 


CONDITIONS  OF  INSURANCE. 


t    A  LL  Applications  for  Inturtnee 

Xi.  writing;  and  (he  Subject  ofTeftd  Tor  li 


bp  made  at  the  office  k^  the  Comnanf,  in 
occuralely  dewribed. 
Diilriciof  aSurireyorof  this 


U.  If  the  property  ofTCrcd  fjr  Ir 
Company,  he  will  cumlne  and  r^rt  thereon;  bul  if  not  iiilbin  any  lucli  Dittricl, 
then  the  Applicant  mmi  himielf  fijniiah  an  accurate  and  just  dcicripuon  thereof;  t.i, 
of  what  Milenals  each  Building  it  con'.lruciod  ;  whether  occupied  as  Private  Diwl- 
lingi.  or  ho*  OLhenrtse  .  where  siluaied  ;  the  Name  ot  the  prcsuii  Occupiers,  how 
Biuatcd  with  respect  to  ovhcr  buildings  : — And  in  the  Insurance  uf  Goods.  Wares  and 
Merehandiiclhe  Place  where  the  same  are  deposited,  is  to  be  described  ;  t|jii.wbeil>{r 
such  gt>ods  are  of  the  kind  denominatbd  Haurdou^,  and  whether  >ny  ManuTaciory  ii 
canicd on  in  the Premiur:.,  all  which  is  lobe  ceiiihed  nnd  atiestcil  m sucli  mannerss 
Iheniiarcofthecase  mtjf  admit.  And  if  any  Person  or  Persona  ihaJlinsurt  hii  or 
their  Dujtdingsor  Coodi.  and  shall  cause  them  10  be  dcicnbed  in  the  Poticy  oiherwise 
tban  they  really  are,  so  as  the  same  be  charged  at  a  lower  Premium  than  ia  herein  pro- 
posed ;  or  ifiueh  Oescnpiion  be  false  or  fraudulent,  such  Iniurmce  vail  be  void  and 
«f  BO  efltcl. 

Ill-  CfiodslicM  in  Tn)st,oron  Commiisiorv.  are  to  be  declared  ftssu^i,  otlierwiie 
Ac  PoKcy  win  not  extend  to  cover  such  Properly. 

IV.  E«ery  Policy  onniurance,  madcby  ihiiCompany,  shall  be  sealed  wilbitsScal.  and 
signed  by  the  Preiklcm  and  Sccre'ary  ;  "id  the  person  lor  whoic  iniercy  the  Injuranee 
tJ  made,  must  be  declared  and  named  thcreio  j  nor  can  any  Policy,  ur  Interest  therein, 
be  assigned,  but  by  consent  of  the  Company,  expressed  by  Endotumeoi  made  ihereun. 

V-  No  Insurance  will  be  conudered  as  made  or  binding,  until  ihc  Premium  is  paid. 

VL  Persons  insuring  Property  wiib  this  Company,  and  who  have  already  made  oth- 
er Innrvice  on  the  same  Property,  shall  gi»e  noiicc  thereof  in  "■ruing  at  the  Com- 
ponj's  Office,  bcrore,  or  Bl  Ihc  time  of  Ihe  execution  of  the  Polky  .  and  Persons  who, 
dker  iDurmg  Properly  ivith  this  Company,  have  insurance  made  on  the  same 
Proprrtyelsewhere,  shall,  wirb  all  reasonable  Diligence,  notify  ihc  tame  in  "writing  al 
t.'refllT.ceoflbe  Company, and  hsve  the  same  endorrtdofithe  Policy, or  olherwise  ac- 
k'W»lcdgt>d  in  willing;  in  default  whereof,  ihe  Policy  shill  ceaie,  and  be  of  no  et- 
L'cl:  and  in  ovof  Ll>%;.  each  Party  injuring  ih.ill  be  bibte  to  ihc  Payment  of  a 
RsleiMc  Proportiin  onl.  <if  iht  Lou  or  Dimage  whjrh  may  be  suslaincd 


VII.  No  Lessor  Damage  by  Fire  will  be  paid,  IhnI  may  happen  or  lake  place  Ineon- 
tequenceof  any  Earthquake,  Invasion,  Ciril  Commotion,  Riot,  or  Military  or  Usurped 

VIII.  Booksof  Accounts.  Written  Securities,  Notes,  Bills,  B^nds,  Deeds,  Ready 
Money,  or  Bullion,  cannot  be  insured. 

IX.  Jewell,  Plate,  Medals, or  otberCurioiiics,  Paintings  and  seulptores,are  not  in- 
cluded in  any  Insurance,  unltis  luih  Ai-ticlcs  arc  specified  in  ihe  Policy, 

\.  All  Persons  insured  by  this  company,  susiiiiung  any  Lost  or  Damage  by  Fire, 
are  foithuiihlo  gire  Notice  to  the  company,  and  Bi  soon  Is  possible,  10  deliver  in  aa 
particular  an  account  of  their  Lois  or  Damii^,  signed  »ith'  their  own  Hanits,  ns  the 
Nature  oflhe  Case  will  admit,  and  make  Pioofof  the  same  by  their  Onli  or  AfTir> 
malion,  and  by  their  Books  of  Accoumi,  and  other  proper  Vouchers,  as  >hall  be  reason- 
abli  rttjuired  ;  si>d  shall  make  Oath,  whelher  any  and  what  other  Iniurance  is  made 
ciithe  lamc  Properly  ;  and  shall  procure  aCeniflcale,  under  ihc  Hand  of  a  Magistrate, 
Nuii'y  Public,  orClergyman,mustcomiguoui  to  the  Spot  where  the  Fire  happened, 
and  not  concerned  in  such  l.ou,)  that  they  are  actjuiinlcd  with  the  Character  and  Cir- 
cufr!innceiofihe  Person  or  Persons  iiiiurcd  ;  and  do  know,  orverity  believe,  that  he, 
she.ur  ihci,r(all^,andby  Mislortune.andwiihout  Fraudorevil  Pcacuce,  hove  sus- 
tained by  luch  Fire.  Lois  and  Damage  to  the  Amuunt  therein  mentioned  ;  and,  unljl 
tnch  Affidants  and  Cenificates  are  produced,  the  Loss  shall  not  be  payible  a^AIso,  if 
there  appenri  any  Fraud,  or  false  Swearing,  (he  Claimabt  shall  forfeit  his  Claim  to 
Restitution  or  Payment,  by  Vinae  of  h>s  Policy. 

XI.  In  ease  any  DiHeience  shall  arise,  touching  any  Loss  or  Damage,  11  may  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Judgment  of  Arbilraiom,  indifferemly  ckoseni  whose  Award  in  writing 
ahall  be  binding  on  the  Paoicj.  And  w>en  any  Loss  or  Damige  shall  happen,  the 
Company  shall  p^  for  the  same  in  Siiiy  Days  after  the  Loss  shall  have  ben  atur- 
lamed  and  proved,  without  allawanc  st  Discount,  Fen.  or  any  Deduction   whsleier 

XII.  Inmraoeeroay  be  made  for  le/en  Yeafi,_by  piymg  the  Premium  for  Si< 
Yearsi  and  for  a  Icsi  num bet  of  Years  than  Se  ten,  a  leaianable  Discount  vrill  bealloMcd. 

Hartford.  July  tJ,   1 1 10 

N.  B.  The  company  will  commence  businesi on  th<»i>th day  «f  August  oeM. 


MILITARY  GOODS 
tVAllD  W  BARTHOLOMEiy. 

TJAVE  ntriied  (fv-  top^i;,  «h.e*i  tDeci*-  „ 
•nrtl^rounble  tfrmi.— AL'  O, 

A  mrtf  supply  tif  Sif  uhcn's  celc-  Oa 
fcfiieJ  DRUMS.  ti 

AagKitai  im 


STRAW  BONNETS. 
ELinU  FAXON. 

or  ii!;  1  new  aiipply  "f  SiriTi  Bonnet)  tod 

STRAW  BRAID. 


uid.  pf.. 


,  Filling.   ■ 


stra*  mare. 

STRAV;:!!  from  Ihe  .i.t>icr>t*r,  na  the  I5ih  OTRATSt)  l>™i 
luLtbty  MARK,  h^e  yaart  oM.  i.aiural  O  ?0>h  ot  ht.y  U.I 
iraner,  hl*t«  Aaneanil  tail,  uith  a  -hile  Flnak  in  her  brcheid.  o~ 
inhet  fnrehfid,  inil  ■  vh'ie  ipolioii  hrr  n(*l  icira  old,  ahoj  ulii, 
aida.  WUorterttilli-iiemrorniaiibawhtrealie  .iu.  1  uhH.,,^1,. 
CIO  b*  found,  thai)  be  leueuably  rewarded  and  1 


CHARLKSJENCKSiCo, 

REfOKC  witi  ih*  PariMia.  tku     Hark. 
btn  abloia  tKur.! 


neiea  vill  [.roliakly   b«   aftrr   iKtt  t. 
Hr*.  wiU^  ivc..,..! 


irint. 

lirimn   Stout,   Spa 
gan,  (Jc. 

nuh  St. 

Oh.". 

.«0«   r.srtrtMl.r-MaAiu' 

w-**r 

fon  W.«. 

^dOh 

ShfrrTd».ln,,«n.r 

Comae  and  Spaauh  Brandy. 

3U1  JtmuaiSpiniiandilL  Cf«la  Rum. 

andtk. 

■>■'«»   Mjfwft.  Mfson  Skji.  So-uAaf 

lrownSlaal1nCaakaafei.3daa.MLk. 

,00,0oaf,r.iqv.1..y  Spuilah  tagan. 

to  wLiAr, 

.Hi/ and  tuiBpSurar. 

:<,(r.»  io 

Daei  and  narr«li. 

tica  in  > 

XnUucl 

JiJMmco..d9Su»»r» 

T<«eiber  wuh  ■  (wtral  aaaerunet 
CEKle&— Fertile  by 

loTCnO. 

SHERMAN  %  MAftSHAtL. 

BurringSbfi.  WoB-Vo-k,  Aor  1.    rt 

N.  D 

til  otdirr  fruin  1^  Cbimtry 

.ui^ilyat- 

C^m*i 

...ll.l,v» 

SPINNING  WHKELS 

Dotiatil  M'Aufoy. — lomiT. 

MKV.ZS  •ndrTp..,r«  ttl  kindi  rtf  ir-\i-l 
WhreUi  li><t„>i>te:i  b.nlrrid,  n: 
••  lYit  5hD>  net!  di-gr  Is  Mcil  lluiiel  Duac> 


Four 

Hal/.BiviMJfd  JtUm, 

Hiimt, 

r.t;eli/                      JOH^ 

to".  Auiruii  I.I. 

TS 

WAX- WORK. 
ELEA7.EH  HUyT!XG7(m, 

HAVING  bem  ioiimcied  in  tt,c  on.  of  Wac 
Work.  Id  the  to^iliem  Stalei.  by  a  gedi^ 
man  Iroa  Curopc— ofTen  for  lalc  a  im  eaies  of 
h.s  WDib  -.  conilaling  of  •ar;aa>  hin.U  t.(  fruis. 
with  thcr  r^li'ie,  comptelely  rucnibliDc  iIh 
Kbiural  (  which  \%t  prtiyinca  la  say.  lar-jud  la 
ao)  Uiat  haiheen  imporleJ.    The  abo.e  wci* 

rally  eomidereJ  tiflitriar  to  eaintian.  isd  la 
n.«h  reigtitafterinaamo  Of^ho  man  capi- J 

dueed.^7he  few  caiei  ^rhiah  I, etui  oahuiJ, 
niybctetn  a-  Spcnurr  »  Cilnan-.  Lnoli.p. 
;iui  Stcre.  In  Miin.Slrrel  i  wkere  ladica  uvd 
[cntlemen  are  iiMited  lo  etll  aru^ne*  <bcm  at 
heirpleuun. — iru>y  perien  ihoaid  vlab  (or  a 
ue  nf  •  cre»ler  yarmlj-  th«n  th«e  on  banj, 
>.ry  may  b«  iu|i[>l.ed  ai  ivn  u  time  will  pcf- 
D<1,  with  a  caii  of  any  deiCTip'.lon,  by  applyinj 


IVORVandCAXWOOD. 
<nnO  toe  SALS., 

I  and  19  Taai  Canvaod  nr 
xeiD'WaLr.inBnilal,  R,  f . .  vho  w>I( 
r  laid  arliiUa  in  HiiUVird,  if  ihe  purctia. 


WcihEtiflcU,  Ja:/  H 


AKWOODHOWSE, 


:1  .(atli.f  M«v  COLT.     What.,, 
aaid    Worxt,  ai  5I10  :ntjTi,„iw 
nay  he  ^d.  ihnU  lot  |t*cfT>vi)r  rv 
MULl/Ft-  OtnCHCR 


NORMAND  SMITH, 

IN  punuuKC  of  hit  avm,   but  boi  f;rgt«lnf 
the  intcreitortbr  (and  people,  wmild  Inform 
liie™  that  he  can  and  will  lupp^  all  ibair  wanla 
inhiiline.  greatly  ta  She   advinujo  of  thoaa 
whowiih   lopurthueiho  follouiinf  articles— 
"■      '       "  '  imli  of  Miliiiry  and   wlifr  uaeful 
"-  "         '     ipud   Skin  Hounngv, 
......  ~,..  ,.u,u.-i-.,i  ....,„«iiei.  Eogliih  Cotlan 

id  Hanwi.  iimng  ir^in  bognd  and  other  tr»»et- 
H(r  Tninki,  tc.  V.'tj,  a  gnat  eanety  of  iie- 
^kuyeviii,  auch  aa  MoTMmen'a  Capa.  Hoi. 
era.  ti^Kcei,  Delta  ifiU  and  plain,  gilt  arul  pliln 
DCkades.  a  xry  fo  Svonla  and  Pmnla.  <iut 
>  abundtneeof  rilrertnaunted  Wriiipi,af  cterr 
i.THpiion.     Mia.  »erychea(ifi>r  eaah.oneai 


--Jdlci  anJ  BriJIn. 


»  *ip>  ar 
h  of  tha 


iV.VNTED. — A   Jwimeyman  that  ii  ■  3nr 
a  uorlnaniiSaJJIea. 


TlfE  lubicriWr' 
orCuUM  Var 


Not  let  to  Jl^eavert. 


Apply  Bi  ihe  Store  f  >nneriy  occufNedby  Meu>«. 

■■  '■       ■  Kitbaom.  Ferry-Street. 

I.  tiijt.  s.  Day. 

ifftr  at  9lial«*a1e  ai  abo»e,  all  bndaaf 
-   "       '  '  '     -IB  C«^^(f™« 


.^'/^. 


Bcd-Tickinc,  Phin',,  Stn>s,  Oinff- 

Thresd<  nf  <hlTcrint  lualiliciand  CA^Aora. 
Contidennc  tji;  Hurabiliir  of  ihr  •tiAre  arli- 
pairoiui*  of  Uba 


patrn 


:,  inl  il, 


ALSO. 


AKCNupViii.  . .»..>. J.,,  (tw,  MARC. 
with  al.Mie  wbiir  (ir,p>m>wlket.  aMk 
white  ipct  un  Sr*  r.p*  ■  *.it<>  imI  a  ansD  wbite 
alripenD  har  r,/-bi  h,n«1  r«tj  rtir  avarrvav. 
«utjted  t»  p'o«*  prvpcnt  par  etrarjea,  b« 
Utrhrrsa.y  IffiRVlN  CLABK 

fariaiBgisB..Jailf.SUk  Tf 


VII 
INCIDENTS  IN  THE  FIRST  DECADE 

THE  premium  income  the  first  year  was  almost  up  to  the 
;^3,ooo  mark,  with  no  losses.  The  next  year  that  mark 
was  passed  with  $3,542.25  in  premiums.  The  losses  that 
year  were  ^112.10;  in  1813,  ^136.13;  in  1814,  ;^i76.6i  and  in  the 
whole  of  the  first  decade,  $13,357.61.  The  premiums  in  that  length 
of  time  had  footed  up  $46,586.45.  For  the  year  1909  they  were 
approximately,  $15,000,000;  for  the  period  since  1810,  $226,781,- 
481.58. 

Policy  No.  I  was  a  $4,000  builders'  risk,  for  three  months,  at  a 
rate  of  12^  cents.  No.  5  policy  was  on  a  gin  distillery  for  $10,000, 
at  a  rate  of  ij  per  cent.  No.  21  covered  dry-goods  to  the  extent 
of  $20,000,  at  75  cents,  and  No.  22  hardware,  for  $20,000,  at  a  rate 
of  25  cents. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  full  year,  the  company  was  taking  single 
risks  that  exceeded  the  entire  cash  assets  by  one  third.  And  yet 
this  was  not  so  great  a  peril  as  it  seems  to  us,  because  of  the  nature 
of  the  business  and  the  general  conditions.  The  prospective 
insured  had  to  ask  for  the  favor;  his  property  was  carefully  studied 
and  a  survey  was  required.  Every  one  of  the  directors,  as  a  rule, 
knew  all  about  it  and,  such  were  the  close  relationships,  the  owner's 
representations  constituted  a  guaranty. 

Contemplating  the  figures  that  represent  the  business  being 
done  these  first  few  years,  we  should  keep  in  mind  the  general 
situation  in  the  country  and  in  New  England  in  particular.  The 
troubles  with  England  and  France  upon  the  sea  and  then  the  War 
of  1812  not  only  spelled  finis  for  most  marine  insurance,  thereby 
affecting  all  insurance,  but  they  bore  heavily  upon  commerce  and 
all  business  affairs,  so  heavily  in  New  England  that  the  governors 
of  the  states  held  their  famous  convention  in  Hartford  in  18 14 
to  consider  what  means  could  be  adopted  to  alleviate  the  condi- 
tions. 

Economy  was  rigid,  caution  the  watchword.  At  the  end  of  the 
first  year,  on  May  31,  181 1,  the  directors  voted  a  dividend  of  50 

[44] 


cents  a  share,  to  be  paid  July  i.  They  also  voted  the  first  salary, 
in  compensation  for  services  rendered  through  the  year  just  ending. 
They  voted  to  pay  Secretary  Walter  Mitchell  $300  and  $^0  additional 
for  the  use  of  his  office  and  for  firewood.  And  that  became 
the  amount  Mr.  Mitchell  was  to  receive  through  many  years  to 
follow. 

The  first  year's  expenses  amounted  to  $530.38.  While  we  have 
not  all  the  items,  they  doubtless  included  the  charge  of  $25  each 
by  Lawyer  Mitchell  and  Lawyer  Henry  Terry  for  their  work  in 
securing  the  charter  from  the  Legislature,  and  also  the  advertising 
bill  of  Hudson  &  Goodwin.  Items  that  are  on  the  mutilated  sheet 
as  preserved  today  are  as  follows : 

"Pd.  Aaron  Colton  for  Book-case  and  table,  etc.,      .    .   ^21.25 
Pd.  W.  Mitchell  procuring  fire  sacks,*  postage  and  sun- 
dry expenses, 58- 38 

Pd.  One  year's  salary  to  secretary, 300.00 

Pd.  One  year's  office  rent  and  fire  wood 30.00" 

The  Colton  item  is  recognized  as  that  for  the  first  furnishing 
of  the  "office."  Receipted  bills  which  have  been  preserved  show 
that  later  Secretary  Mitchell  received  payments  for  special  services, 
as  did  also  the  president.  Though  we  often  hear  it  referred  to  now 
with  a  smile,  the  salary  was  quite  good  for  those  times  and  in  view 
of  the  services  rendered,  which  could  not  have  occupied  more  than 
a  fraction  of  the  secretary's  time.  Altogether,  then,  there  was 
nothing  niggardly  about  the  management. 

There  is  another  bill  which  may  have  been  included  among 
the  secretary's  sundries.  It  is  the  bill  of  Deacon  Abner  Reed  of 
Windsor,  the  engraver  and  printer,  the  man  who  designed  the  plates 
which  adorned  the  top  of  the  policies  and  who  did  most  of  the  fine 
printing.  The  amount  is  $7.89  for  a  total  of  526  policies  printed 
that  year.  In  1815,  227  were  printed,  at  an  expense  of  $3.40.  It 
is  probable  that  a  fair  surplus  had  been  left  from  the  first  year  and 
that  Reed's  bill  for  227  in  18 15  was  his  second  for  policies.  They 
were  not  being  used  very  fast.  Premium  income  and  interest 
combined  the  first  year  had  amounted  to  $3,500  and  in  1820  it  had 
little  more  than  doubled. 

We  also  learn  from  the  first  year's  accounts  that  the  company 
had  overdrawn  at  the  bank  to  the  extent  of  $71.34  and  that  it  had 

*  See  page  55. 

[45   ] 


an  "insurance  account"  of  ;$l, 168.66.     This  is  the  first  year's  trial 
balance : 


DR. 


I  —  Bills  receivable  3d  installment,     .    .    .    . 

8  —  Bills  discounted  (due  16  June),  .    .    .    . 

II  —  Hartford  Bank  stock,  14  shares  (n    par. 


$135,000.00 

12,140.00 

5,600.00 


^152,740.00 

CR. 

1  — Stock,  3,000  shares  50,      |Si50,ooo.oo 

2  —  Cash,  overdrawn  the  bank, 71-34 

13  —  Insurance  acct., 1,168.66 

14 — Dividends  (unpaid), 1,500.00 


$152,740.00 


The  directors  themselves  gave  more  and  more  of  their  time, 
with  almost  weekly  conferences  though  not  formal  meetings  to  be 
recorded,  without  any  thought  of  compensation  or  the  lightening 
of  their  labor,  until  well  on  toward  the  middle  of  the  century.  They 
had  pride  in  their  institution  and  it  was  worth  something  to  them 
to  know  that  every  detail  of  the  work  was  being  done  properly. 
How  in  later  years,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  they  staked 
their  fortunes  for  their  honor  will  appear  in  its  place  in  our 
story. 

Despite  all  there  was  to  contend  against,  conservative  manage- 
ment continued  and  December  3,  181 1,  the  directors  declared  a 
dividend  of  30  cents  a  share,  to  be  followed  by  one  of  the  same 
amount  at  the  end  of  the  next  six  months,  or  60  cents  for  the  year, 
an  increase  of  20  per  cent. 

A  counterfeit  bill  on  the  Hartford  Bank,  which  still  remains 
folded  into  the  original  bank  book,  tells  of  one  of  the  evils  that  had 
to  be  looked  out  for,  and  at  the  same  time  is  a  silent  reminder 
of  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  currency.  There  was  a  general 
suspension  of  specie  payment  during  this  period  of  great  depression 
of  commercial  credit,  and  resumption  of  specie  payment  for  the 
country  at  large  did  not  come  till  18 17.  And  then  there  was  to 
follow  the  panic  of  i8ig. 

[46] 


October  3,  1812,  the  directors  voted  to  call  for  an  instalment 
of  $5  a  share  on  stock  subscriptions.  At  their  December  meet- 
ing, they  voted  a  30-cent  semi-annual  dividend,  as  in  the  previous 
year,  and  six  months  later  doubled  it,  making  90  cents  for  the 
year,  an  increase  of  50  per  cent.  That  year,  1813,  the  stockholders' 
meeting,  which  always  had  been  held  at  Ransom's  Inn,  was  held 
at  Bennett's  Coffee  House,  which  had  developed  into  a  rival  of 
Ransom's  and  was  to  be  a  favorite  meeting  place  for  some  years  to 
come. 

The  salary  of  Secretary  Mitchell  was  now  paid  semi-annually 
instead  of  yearly,  and  the  other  payments  to  him  had  increased 
from  ;^30  a  year  to  ^60.  Money  was  coming  in.  The  dividend 
for  1813-1814  was  $1.20,  an  increase  of  333  per  cent.  The  fall 
of  that  year  saw  rather  hard  sledding  and  the  vote  for  a  semi-annual 
dividend  at  the  December  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was  omitted. 
Nevertheless  American  pluck  was  superior  to  adversity  and  he  who 
read  the  signs  of  the  times  aright  had  confidence  in  the  future. 
It  was  in  18 15  that  the  steamer  Fulton  sailed  up  the  Connecticut, 
giving  Hartford  people  visual  evidence  of  the  revolution  steam  was 
working  in  commerce.  A  neighbor  of  the  Hartford  people,  John 
Fitch  of  Windsor,  already  had  discovered  that  steam  could  be 
utilized  in  navigation  (in  the  last  quarter  of  the  previous  century), 
and  it  is  said  that  at  about  this  time,  a  Hartford  man  actually 
traveled  the  streets  of  the  city  in  a  steam  propelled  carriage,  pre- 
cursor of  the  automobile. 

Black  as  were  the  clouds,  Hartford  was  optimistic  and  the 
Hartford  was  buoyant — born  so  and  never  to  be  anything  else. 
The  old  dividend  of  60  cents  for  the  previous  six  months  reappears 
on  the  books  for  July,  1815.  Also  it  was  voted  that  transfer  of 
policies  could  be  made  by  the  secretary  without  convening  the  full 
board — good  token  of  increasing  business.  Yet  Mr.  Mitchell 
was  exceedingly  cautious  and  would  not  allow  additional  stoves 
in  an  insured  building  until  in  November  of  this  year  he  referred 
the  matter  to  the  directors  and  they  voted  that  the  company's  con- 
sent could  be  endorsed  by  him  upon  the  policies.  The  times 
required  this  change  in  policy;  stoves  were  increasing  in  number. 
Later  times  were  to  require  other  changes  and  the  company  was 
going  to  be  ready  to  meet  them  promptly. 

We  have  statements  for  the  beginning  of  the  last  half  of  the 
decade,  showing  the  assets  and  liabilities  (dividends).     They  are 

[4^  ] 


made  out  in  Secretary  Mitchell's  quaint  handwriting  and  read  as 
follows,  dated  January  20,  1816: 

Dividend  payable  in  June  next     ) 

presumed  the  same  as  heretofore  j      ;^i,8oo.oo 

To  meet  which,  say 

6  mos.  dividend  in  Hartford  Bank  3%  792.00 
Int.  on  notes  to  be  renewed  15  Feb.,  .  142. 11 
Dividends  on  7  p  ct.  stock  payable  on 

and  previous  to  I   July, 122.50  1,056.61 

Leaving,  $      743  .  39  to  be 

provided  for 
And  from  the  receipt  of  the  last  year  for  the  corresponding  6  months  it 
may  be  safely  calculated  that  the  premiums  to  be  received  from  this  time  to 
the  1st  June  will  be  at  least  double  the  sum  to  be  provided  for. 

The  "statement  of  funds"  is  as  follows,  for  the  same  date: 

66  Bank  Shares,  at  ;^4i6, ^27,456.00 

7  p  ct.  Stock  at  cost, 3,517.80 

Ams.  of  money  loaned  on  notes  pay.  15  Feb.,    .    .  9,474.00 

Cash  in  Bank, 979.27 

^41,427.70 
Capital  paid  in, 30,000.00 

Surplus, $11,427.70 

A  dividend  of  $3.81  on  3000  shares  would  be,     .    .    ;^ii,430.oo 

On  February  20  following,  it  was  voted  that  on  April  i  stock- 
holders pay  in  $4  on  their  instalments  and  at  the  same  time  receive 
a  dividend  of  $4,  a  little  better  than  the  ^3.81  in  the  foregoing  state- 
ment. The  following  June  (18 16)  it  was  voted  that  stockholders 
turn  in  25  per  cent  of  what  they  owed  on  their  stock  at  their  next 
renewal  of  notes,  and  that  25  per  cent  be  paid  in  at  each  subsequent 
renewal  until  the  notes  were  paid  in  full.  There  was  a  60-cent 
dividend  in  July. 

A  unique  incident,  by  the  way,  marked  that  period.  For  some 
reason  there  came  a  hitch  in  the  payment  of  taxes  due  in  1 8 16. 
It  may  have  been  that  there  was  a  controversy  about  this  par- 
ticular tax  account,  but  we  notice  that  there  was  no  allowance  for 
taxes,  due  in  July,  under  the  "liabilities"  in  the  statement.     It  is 

[48I 


WALTER   MITCHELL 

SEC  RET AR  Y 

1810-1835 


possible,  therefore, — and  considering  the  comparatively  heavy 
losses  that  had  come, —  that  we  have  in  this  an  illustration  of  the 
old  hand-to-mouth  method  which,  due  to  inexperience,  was  to  be 
sharply  reversed  before  many  years  had  passed  and  in  plenty  of 
time  to  save  the  company  from  the  disaster  which  overtook  sundry 
similar  organizations.  This  is  the  bill  which  lingers  in  the  com- 
pany's archives : 

The  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company: 
Gentlemen: 

Your  State,  County,  Town  &  Highway  Taxes  on  the  List  of  1815  due 
me  are  as  follows : 

Viz.  State  Tax  xixr  on  the  Dollar, $31.68 


My  Fees  for  collecting  —  Do 

County  Tax  -nnr¥  on  the  Dollar, 6 

My  Fees  for  collecting  —  Do  — , 

Town  Tax  i-f^  on  the  Dollar, 158 

My  Fees  for  collecting  —  Do  — , 4 

Highway  Tax  yfir  on  the  Dollar, 63 

My  Fees  for  collecting  —  Do  — , i 


;?266 


87 
33 
24 

40 
04 
36 
67 


59 


Aug.  22 —  18 1 7.  Rec'd  payment  by  the  Sale  at  Public  Auction 
of  three  (3)  shares  of  their  Hartford  Bank  Stock 
amounting  to  Three  Hundred  &  fifteen  Dollars,* 
the  overplus  of  which  sales  being  forty-eight 
Dollars  and  yVV  I  have  this  day  paid  over  to 
Walter  Mitchell,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  sd.  Company 

as  pr.  his  Rect 

Wm.  Ely,  Collector. 
Another  entry  on  February  20,  1816,  causes  us  to  pause  a  moment 
in  following  the  company's  progress  to  consider  its  cautious  efforts 
to  widen  its  territory  and  its  earliest  recognition  of  the  value  of 
well  selected  agents.  And  this  brings  us  back  again  to  the  very 
first  pages  of  the  historic  old  record  book,  for  it  is  on  those  pages, 
preceding  all  else,  the  very  place  of  honor,  that  a  list  of  agents,  or 
surveyors,  was  kept.  The  list  was  begun  as  a  sort  of  memorandum, 
without  much  formality,  but  as  time  went  on  and  the  agents  were 
passed  upon  regularly  by  the  board  of  directors,  the  record  is  fairly 
complete  for  a  number  of  years. 

*  Par  value  now  $ioo. 

[51    ] 


Jonathan  G.  W.  Trumbull  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  of  distinguished 
family,  was  authorized  to  underwrite,  December  27,  1810.  The 
first  representative  to  be  appointed  outside  of  Connecticut  was 
Ebenezer  F.  Norton  who  in  181 1  was  given  the  power  to  take  insur- 
ance and  countersign  policies,  with  headquarters  at  Canandaigua, 
N.  Y.  It  is  to  be  said  of  him,  in  the  interests  of  historical  accuracy, 
that  he  did  not  remain  long  in  the  service.  There  was  n't  "much 
doing."  Like  his  fellow  agents,  he  received  no  commission,  merely 
the  charge  for  the  survey  and  the  policy  fee  of  50  cents,  which  the 
insured  paid. 

Ephraim  Kingsbury  was  appointed  at  Haverhill,  Mass.,  June  8, 
1 8 14,  "with  authority  to  receive  proposals  for  insurance,  to  deter- 
mine the  premiums  and  to  issue  policies  for  the  company,"  and  he 
was  to  "retain  for  his  services  the  cost  of  the  policy" — which 
included  the  survey. 

This  entry  of  February  20,  1816,  which  caused  us  to  pause, 
recorded  the  first  regular  commission  ever  authorized  by  the  Hart- 
ford's directors.  The  firm  of  Hooker  &  Brewster  of  Middlebury, 
Vt.,  was  to  be  allowed  a  commission  of  50  cents  on  each  policy  of 
over  ^1,000.  The  system  of  percentages  did  not  come  in  till  three 
years  later.  As  for  the  Messrs.  Hooker  &  Brewster,  there  was  a 
fo,ooo  loss  in  their  town  less  than  three  months  after  they  were 
appointed — the  first  loss  to  receive  formal  notice  in  the  records 
of  the  directors'  meetings,  though  every  loss,  like  every  appointment 
and  piece  of  underwriting  was  passed  upon  by  the  board. 


[52] 


VIII 
THE  WAR  UPON  FIRE 

THAT  Middlebury  loss  was  promptly  paid  and  the  stock- 
holders got  their  6o-cent  dividend  in  July,  1816.  Elisha 
Colt  was  elected  to  the  directorate  that  year.  The  first 
change  in  the  original  board  had  come  in  181 5  when  Thomas  Glover 
was  succeeded  by  Spencer  Whiting.  He  remained  but  one  year 
and  Mr.  Colt,  who  like  Mr.  Whiting  was  one  of  the  charter  mem- 
bers, took  his  place.  In  1817  there  were  three  changes.  David 
Watkinson,  Thomas  K.  Brace  and  Ward  Woodbridge  went  out 
and  Edward  Watkinson,  Roswell  Bartholomew  and  Eliphalet 
Terry,  who  was  to  be  the  second  president,  came  in.  John  Russ 
succeeded  Daniel  Buck  in  1818  and  was  succeeded  by  Jesse  Savage 
the  next  year. 

In  addition  to  declaring  their  60-cent  dividend  in  December 
of  that  year,  1816,  the  directors  voted  to  purchase  ^600  worth  of 
United  States  funded  7  per  cent  stock  and  to  call  25  per  cent  of 
loans  on  notes.  The  next  July  brought  another  dividend  of  60 
cents. 

In  December,  181 7,  Nathaniel  Patten  was  authorized  to  sign 
stock  certificates  and  policies  as  president  pro  tem.  the  first  indica- 
tion of  the  need  that  was  slowly  developing  for  a  vice  president. 

An  entry  in  November,  18 18,  leads  us  to  inquire  into  the  methods 
for  fighting  fire,  in  which  the  company  manifested  keen  interest. 
On  that  date  the  directors  ordered  that  Augustus  Andrus,  Colonel 
Watrous,  Mr.  Kennedy  and  Mr.  Rogers  each  be  given  ^15,  Elisha 
Sears  $10  and  H.  Lovell  ^5  for  their  work  in  extinguishing  a  fire 
on  November  2. 

Other  entries  having  to  do  with  the  company's  efforts  to 
encourage  preservation  of  property  throw  light  on  the  customs  of 
those  times,  and  thereby  upon  the  chances  of  fire  and  consequent 
loss  to  the  fire  insurance  companies.  There  is  an  item  of  ;^I2  paid 
to  Secretary  Mitchell  in  1819  for  a  "watch."  The  day  of  cheap 
watches  had  not  come,  and  most  of  the  pocket  timepieces  of  that 
generation  were  worth  more  than  ^12  for  old  metal.     The  "watch" 

[53] 


referred  to  was  one  of  the  town  watchmen.  In  November,  1819, 
the  directors  voted  ^20  toward  a  "watch  for  the  city." 

In  1 8 12  there  was  a  "watch"  of  four  men  whose  duty  it  was  to 
patrol  the  streets  and  keep  an  eye  out  for  an  incipient  blaze.  For 
their  services  they  received  $1  a  night.  Soon,  however,  the  number 
of  nights  that  each  could  serve  in  any  one  year  was  reduced  to 
twelve,  and  even  at  that,  the  times  being  hard,  the  burden  upon 
the  community  was  so  great  that  the  lift  from  the  insurance  com- 
pany in  1819  was  very  much  appreciated. 

In  1820  the  number  of  the  watch  was  increased  to  five  who 
were  to  parade  with  stick  and  lantern  nightly  from  December  to 
April.  To  meet  the  expense  a  subscription  fund  was  raised,  and 
it  does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  taxation  for  this  purpose  until 
1822  when  one  mill  was  levied.  As  late  as  1840,  every  able-bodied 
man  in  Hartford  had  to  attend  fires  whatever  time  they  came  and 
whatever  the  weather,  or  pay  a  fine  of  $2.  At  least,  such  were  the 
regulations. 

In  July,  1834,  the  board  voted  ^50  toward  an  engine  for  the 
city.  In  November  of  the  following  year  it  was  voted  to  offer  a 
reward  of  ;^5  for  the  first  company  to  reach  a  fire  and  get  its  engine 
into  action. 

The  only  systematized  method  for  fighting  fire  is  portrayed  in 
the  illustration  at  the  top  of  the  old  policies.  There  were  hand 
engines  but  the  water  for  them  had  to  be  supplied  by  a  bucket  bri- 
gade which  would  form  a  double  line  to  the  nearest  stream  or  wells 
and  the  buckets  would  be  passed  from  hand  to  hand  on  up  to  the 
machine. 

ti  I  What  was  required  by  law  in  the  way  of  fire  service  was  made  a 
means  of  sociability  and  a  source  of  honor  by  the  enterprising  young 
men.  Their  companies  and  brigades,  each  member  equipped 
with  a  leather  bucket,  partook  of  the  nature  of  clubs,  with  occasional 
feastings  and  picnics.  As  many  readers  still  can  remember,  they 
were  succeeded  by  the  "volunteer  firemen"  wearing  red  shirts 
and  shovel-brimmed  leather  helmets.  In  many  cities  enough  of 
the  volunteers  survive  in  these  days  of  steam  engines,  self- 
propelled  machines  and  paid  departments  to  keep  up  the  names 
of  the  organizations  in  which  they  took  such  pride,  to  hold 
frequent  meetings  for  talking  over  the  years  when  they  "ran 
with  the  machine"  and  to  parade  in  their  fiery  uniforms  on  gala 
occasions. 

[54] 


In  all  the  better  organized  companies  it  was  the  duty  of  certain 
squads  to  do  what  they  could  to  carry  the  goods  in  the  burning 
building  to  a  place  of  safety,  acting  as  a  sort  of  salvage  corps. 
The  "fire  sacks"  referred  to  in  the  items  of  the  first  year's 
expense  (page  45)  played  an  important  part  in  the  early  days. 
Each  fireman  carried  one  of  these  sacks  to  aid  in  removing  goods 
from  buildings,  and  the  donations  of  them  from  the  insurance 
company  were  most  gratefully  received.  In  1837,  the  city  hav- 
ing arranged  to  provide  the  sacks,  there  was  a  regular  sack 
wagon  for  each  fire  company.  These  wagons  were  discontinued  in 
1864. 

In  England  the  public  let  the  fire  insurance  companies  do  most 
of  the  fire-fighting,  perhaps  because  their  rivalry  led  them  on  to 
make  a  showing.  Vice  President  Richard  M.  Bissell  of  the  Hart- 
ford Fire  Insurance  Company,  in  one  of  his  lectures  in  the  insur- 
ance course  at  Yale  University,  in  1908,  gave  this  account  of  how 
things  were  done  over  there:  "The  ordinary  method  of  preventing 
the  spread  of  fire  at  that  period  [the  early  days  of  fire  insurance] 
seems  to  have  been  by  blowing  up  buildings  by  gunpowder,  and 
this  work  was  commonly  done  by  the  artillery,  or  Royal  Gunners. 
The  early  insurance  companies  used  also  bucket  brigades  and 
hand-pumping  engines.  Each  company  had  its  own  liveried  fire- 
men, who  were  expected  to  guard  its  interests.  Later  some  of  the 
companies  organized  corps  of  watchmen  and  patrolmen  who  should 
discover  fires  in  their  incipiency,  give  the  alarm  and  summon  the 
firemen  of  the  company  for  whom  they  worked.  Still  later,  when 
the  practice  of  insuring  personal  property  began,  it  was  found 
advisable  by  the  Sun  office  —  the  first,  it  will  be  remembered, 
to  transact  that  class  of  business — to  provide  a  body  of  men 
for  the  purpose  of  removing  insured  goods  from  burning  build- 
ings and  for  protecting  them  when  so  removed  from  thieves  and 
pilferers. 

"As  companies  multiplied,  so  did  their  private  fire  and  salvage 
corps  increase  in  number,  until  in  1808  fifty  fire  engines  were  kept 
by  the  companies  in  London  alone.  In  1825  a  number  of  these 
companies  consolidated  their  fire  brigades.  In  1833  all  were  united, 
but  not  till  1866  was  the  establishment  turned  over  to  the  city.  It 
seems  very  strange  that  private  corporations  should  have  so  long 
been  allowed  to  control  and  direct  this  important  branch  of  civic 
administration."  ■ 


55 


Thus  there  was  ample  warrant  for  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance 
Company's  contributing  for  the  "watch"  and  for  the  improved 
hand  engines  when  they  came,  and  also  for  awarding  prizes  or 
giving  bonuses  for  those  who  distinguished  themselves  in  the  battles 
with  the  devouring  element. 

The  American  companies  did  not,  like  the  English,  have  their 
own  fire  companies  or  corps  but  with  clever  ingenuity  they  under- 
took to  designate  plainly  what  buildings  were  insured.  Some  have 
thought  that  this  was  merely  a  species  of  advertising,  and  into  that 
it  did  degenerate  in  the  later  days.  But  the  original  purpose  was 
to  arouse  special  effort  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  putting  out  fire 
in  the  buildings  designated.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  many 
of  the  companies  were  local  mutual  companies  in  which  the  neighbor- 
hood had  a  financial  interest.  Also  in  this  designating  there  was 
a  kind  of  warning  to  incendiaries,  somewhat  as  there  is  in  the  labeling 
method  of  the  burglary  insurance  today. 

The  designation  was  by  means  of  a  metal  plate,  bearing  the 
company's  name,  tacked  up  over  the  front  door.  In  England  this 
enabled  particular  companies'  firemen  to  distinguish  which  buildings 
they  were  to  expend  their  energies  upon,  but  in  this  democratic 
country  where  there  were  no  proprietary  companies  of  firemen 
and  where  all  had  learned  to  help  each  other  in  an  emergency, 
these  plates  were  not  used  for  that  purpose  but  rather  to  certify 
to  the  identity  of  the  property  insured;  also  in  a  way  they  were 
looked  upon  as  establishing  the  credit  and  standing  of  the  property 
owner  to  whose  buildings  they  were  affixed.  Up  to  comparatively 
recent  times  the  metal  markers  have  been  used  in  the  rural  districts 
because  the  farmers  rather  liked  the  looks  of  them  and  desired  to  have 
it  known  that  they  were  insured.  On  many  buildings  the  signs 
tarried  long  after  the  insurance  had  expired,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
can  be  seen  today  on  old  farmhouses  in  Pennsylvania,  New  York 
and  New  England. 

That  in  cases  of  direst  extremity  we  still  have  to  resort  to  the 
primitive  English  method  of  blowing  up  buildings  we  have  had 
painful  illustration  in  recent  years.  But  from  the  bucket  brigade 
to  a  stand-pipe  or  sprinkler  system  is  one  of  those  transitions  which 
it  is  well  to  take  time  to  contemplate. 

One  word  as  to  some  of  the  early  accounts  of  fire  losses.  Here 
is  a  claim  made  out  for  Joseph  Wheeler  whose  name  appears  in 
the  list  of  original  subscribers : 

[  56] 


List  of  damage  done  house  and  fuiniture  belonging  to  Joseph  Wheeler 
by  the  fire  of  September  19 — 

32  square  glass  broke  paid  for  setting  and  mending  frames,$4.50 
I  Bed  Stead  sides  and  end  piece  gone  and  rope,   ...      2.00 

I  silk  umbrella  (new)  lost,      5.00 

I  sett  castors  cost  12  dolls,  damage,  say, 4.00 

I  salt  cellar  broke,  1.50.     2  or  3  Tumblers  broke,    .    .      2.00 
Damage  done  Paint  on  house,  Barn  etc., 18.00 

35-5° 
Deduct  Umbrella, 5.00 

30.50 
Clock  key  lost, 50 


31.00 
Policy  794.     Paid  in  full.     Dec.  7,  1819. 

An  umbrella  was  about  as  uncertain  a  quantity  then  as  it  is 
now.  The  claimant  who  was  so  honest  to  own  up  when  he  found 
his  after  the  excitement  of  the  fire  was  over  and  there  had  been  an 
assembling  of  the  household  goods  each  person  had  taken  out  with 
tender  if  not  sane  care,  well  deserved  to  have  added  to  his  list  the 
missing  clock  key.  The  prices  of  umbrellas,  clock  keys  and  salt 
cellars  are  pleasingly  compared  with  the  prices  today.  Director 
Wheeler  had  occasion  again  to  be  thankful  that  he  was  insured; 
his  dry-goods  store  caught  fire  and  his  claim  of  January  21,  1812, 
for  ^ii2.ioJ,  was  allowed. 

The  first  loss  of  any  account  was  on  Charles  Jencks  &  Co.'s 
distillery  April  10,  1812.  The  account  rendered  was  for  $150.75 
but  a  deduction  of  $14.62  was  made.  A  prominent  item  was  the 
mash  ("marsh")  used  for  fighting  the  fire. 

Then  the  company  had  to  pay  for  rum.  Rum  was  rather  plenty, 
not  only  for  social  events  but  for  house-raisings,  military  trainings 
and  sundry  other  occasions.  As  a  lubricant  for  human  machines 
it  had  to  be  recognized  by  the  insurance  company  in  which  there 
were  so  many  worthy  churchmen.  After  a  fire  in  an  Enfield  mill  — 
not  far  from  Hartford  —  the  company  paid  for  the  repairs.  A  new 
shaft  was  made  over  in  Tolland,  some  r\venty  miles  distant.  It 
cost  a  dollar  for  a  horse  to  drive  over  there  and  back.  Labor  of 
men  to  fit  the  shaft,  nineteen  days,  was  charged  up  at  $35.     Then 

[  57  ] 


there  were  "three  quarts  of  brandy  drank  by  hands,"  ^i.  If  the 
bosses  drank  any,  they  must  have  paid  for  it  out  of  their  own  pockets. 

Noah  Patten's  house  was  damaged  by  fire  and  bill  for  expenses 
was  rendered  in  January,  1814.  The  total  amount  for  repairs  was 
^152  of  which  ^3.50  was  for  spirituous  refreshment  for  the  "car- 
penters and  joiners." 

Some  of  the  books  they  read  then  and  the  value  of  them  are 
shown  by  the  account  for  a  fire  apparently  in  a  local  bindery  or 
publishing  house  in  1819.     In  the  memorandum  are  these  items: 

1,000  President's  Tour  at  ;?i.25, $1,250 

500  Memoirs  of  Jackson, 625 

800  Labourne's  Campaigns  at  $2.25, 1,800 

5  Setts  Scott's  Bible, 160 

500  Uncle  Sam  in  Search  after  his  Lost  Honor  at  50c,  .        250 

The  relative  value  of  Mr.  Scott's  Bibles  and  Uncle  Sam's  honor 
is  rather  notable.  And  judging  by  the  supply  in  stock,  the  Presi- 
dent's tours  must  have  made  such  interesting  reading  that  the  book 
was  one  of  the  "best  sellers." 

Public  expression  of  gratitude  for  efforts  in  fighting  fire  was 
common  down  to  a  late  day.  A  card  by  Enoch  Perkins,  an  original 
stockholder,  in  1827,  tells  us  something  about  the  fire  department 
as  well  as  gives  us  an  impression  of  the  "danger"  a  house  could 
be  saved  from  when  it  was  threatened  by  a  "conflagration."  It 
reads  thus : 

"  Enoch  Perkins  presents  his  most  cordial  thanks  to  the  engineer, 
fire  wardens,  fire  companies  and  citizens  for  their  able  and  spirited 
exertions  which  by  the  blessing  of  God  were  successful  in  preserving 
his  home  from  imminent  danger  when  threatened  in  the  conflagra- 
tion which  took  place  on  the  night  of  the  9th  instant." 


[58] 


ll 


ELIPHALET    TERRY 

PRESIDENT 
1835    1849 


IX 

AT  THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  ERA  — EXPANSION 

THE  year  1820  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  period  in  the 
history  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company. 
Fire  insurance  was  reveaUng  greater  possibihties  than 
had  been  contemplated.  The  horizon  was  widening  mightily. 
The  sufficiency  of  ^15,000  in  cash  at  the  outset  and  of  a  compara- 
tively local  (and  practically  uncultivated)  territory  was  soon  to 
become  a  cause  of  general  wonderment  as  public  appreciation  of 
the  need  of  indemnity  against  loss  deepened. 

In  a  word,  the  proportions  of  the  undertaking  were  looming 
large.  As  they  impress  themselves  upon  us  today,  to  be  sure,  they 
were  hardly  discernible  in  1820,  but  events  and  the  progress  of  affairs 
as  a  whole,  during  the  next  fifteen  years  in  particular,  were  making 
themselves  felt  and  were  working  a  radical  modification  of  the 
views  of  1 8 10.  If  it  is  true  of  most  successful  and  enduring  enter- 
prises that  they  exceed  earliest  expectations  and  develop  in  broader 
channels  than  were  foreseen,  it  must  be  said  that  it  is  preeminently 
true  of  the  business  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

Uplifting  tendencies  had  been  operating  since  the  very  first 
year,  but  with  1820  we  are  entering  upon  a  period  when  transitions 
were  to  compel  speedier  readaptation,  with  retrogression  and  col- 
lapse as  the  only  alternative.  Wider  territory  lay  open  and  waiting; 
closer  application  to  the  business  as  a  business  was  not  an  option 
but  a  demand,  and  system  was  bound  to  evolve  some  way  —  it  must 
be  the  best  way.  The  changes  were  not  to  be  sudden.  They  were 
to  come  one  after  another;  wisdom  is  engendered  by  experience. 
But  roughly  speaking,  1820  may  be  taken  as  the  date  when,  first 
conceptions  more  than  realized,  the  great  future  began  more  defi- 
nitely to  shape  itself.  For  this  reason,  the  years  immediately  follow- 
ing are  preeminently  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  reader  of  the 
company's  history. 

And  following  the  main  line  of  development,  with  now  and 
then  digressions  for  minor  details  of  special  interest,  we  may  divide 
our  consideration  into  rvvo  parts  —  expansion  and  readjustment. 

[  61  1 


It  was  a  good  time  for  expansion.  The  management  was  alive 
to  that  fact.  Activity  in  the  financial  world  on  the  part  of  the  men 
in  the  company  had  been  demonstrated  again  and  recently  when, 
in  1819,  the  Society  for  Savings  was  established  —  today  the  largest 
savings  bank  in  the  state  of  Connecticut  and  with  Director  Jonathan 
B.  Bunce  of  the  Hartford  Fire  as  president.  Daniel  Wadsworth 
was  the  first  president,  Elisha  Colt  treasurer,  and  Ward  Wood- 
bridge,  James  H.  Wells,  Michael  Bull  and  Colonel  Henry  Hudson 
were  associated  with  them  as  directors. 

The  city  of  Hartford  itself  was  awakening  after  the  depression 
of  the  war  period.  What  was  true  of  Hartford  was  true  of  other 
cities  and  towns  throughout  eastern  United  States.  The  last  half 
of  the  preceding  (and  first)  decade  of  the  company's  history  had 
shown  fair  progress,  but  it  was  seen  that  there  were  now  possibilities 
that  the  next  could  be  better,  or  at  least  more  stability  be  secured. 
There  had  been  a  tremendous  advance  in  every  quarter. 

In  turning  aside  a  moment  for  another  note  on  the  customs  of 
the  day,  we  get  a  bit  of  color  and  likewise  a  strand  for  the  still  con- 
tinuous thread  of  our  story.  Faithful  chronicling  has  necessitated 
reference  to  spirituous  products  of  foreign  lands  in  the  stores  of 
leading  merchants,  to  the  insurance  on  a  distillery — a  compara- 
tively frequent  sort  of  structure  as  one  was  getting  about  on  his 
travels,—  and  to  the  presence  of  strong  drink  at  social  functions 
of  the  elite.  The  early  directors  of  the  company  were  at  one  with 
the  times  and  they  preserved  for  this  abstemious  generation's  perusal 
most  of  their  bills  down  to  the  early  '20's. 

About  once  in  six  months,  after  dividends  and  Mr.  Mitchell's 
salary  had  been  paid,  they  met  at  some  one  of  the  best  hostelries 
and  had  two  or  three  friends  to  sup  with  them.  Thus  on  July  30, 
181 1,  suppers  for  twenty-six  of  them,  furnished  by  Joseph  Pratt, 
as  per  his  bill,  cost  $28.  John  Bennett  was  the  caterer  on  January 
12,  1 8 14  (and  on  several  subsequent  occasions) —  "fourteen  suppers, 
;^34.50."  That  was  one  of  the  heaviest  bills  of  the  series,  whatever 
may  have  been  said  of  the  supper.  However,  he  got  ^51.75  for 
entertainment  of  the  "  proprietors  and  number  of  gentlemen,  30 
in  number"  in  December,  1821,  but  only  from  $3  to  ^5  from  that 
date  on  for  some  years.  Daniel  Bulkley's  receipted  bill  for  Novem- 
ber 23,  181 7,  accounts  for  twenty-three  suppers  at  75  cents  a  supper; 
eighteen  bottles  of  "M"  at  $1.50,  "2  spirits"  at  $1  and  "2  doz. 
cigars"  at  25  cents  —  total  $46.75. 

[62] 


A  new  figure  in  the  insurance  world  is  introduced  to  us  by  means 
of  these  supper  bills,  the  more  worthy  of  consideration  because  of 
the  important  role  that  this  man  was  to  play  in  insurance  and  that 
his  descendants  after  him  were  to  play  in  the  world  of  national  and 
international  finance.  Joseph  Morgan  was  the  keeper  of  Morgan's 
Coffee  House  which  was  gaining  popularity.  There  the  "election 
ball"  was  held  annually.  The  third  fioor  of  the  building  had  been 
especially  adapted  for  it,  with  its  "spring  floor,"  recessed  window 
seat — what  a  joy  at  a  ball!  —  three  chandeliers  and  two  oval  mir- 
rors, one  at  each  end  of  the  room.  There  was  nothing  much  like 
it  anywhere  in  these  parts,  and  New  York  itself  had  few  rivals. 

A  bill  of  Joseph  Morgan's  reads  as  follows : 

HARTFORD   FIRE   INSURANCE  COMPANY, 

TO    Jos.  Morgan,  DR. 
1818 

Dec.  8.     To  28  Suppers  —  5s.,      $24.50 

14  Bottles  M.  Wine,  12s., 28.00 

I         "      Spirits  7s  ip 

I  bottle  Brandy,  9s.,      .    .  2.75 

6  Glasses  Gin  Sling, .50 

36  Cigars,  3  cents, 1.08 

$56.83 
Jan.  4,  1819. 

Reed  Payment. 
Jos.  Morgan. 

Joseph  Morgan  was  born  in  West  Springfield,  Mass.,  in  1780. 
He  had  come  to  Hartford  only  as  recently  as  181 7.  He  continued 
in  the  hotel  business  till  1835.  Interested  in  farming  and  stock 
raising,  he  bought  and  cultivated  a  large  tract  of  land  where  now  is 
one  of  the  chief  resident  sections  of  the  city.  For  some  years  prior 
to  his  death  in  1847,  he  traveled  extensively  for  the  /Etna  Insurance 
Company  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  original  directors. 

The  son,  Junius  Spencer  Morgan,  born  in  West  Springfield  in 
1813,  was  a  director  in  the  Hartford  Fire  from  1836  to  1841  and 
again  from  1843  to  1852.  After  experience  in  the  New  York  bank- 
ing house  of  Morgan,  Ketchum  &  Co.,  from  1834  to  1836,  he  returned 
to  Hartford  and  was  a  dry-goods  merchant.  In  1851  he  went  to 
Boston  and  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  J.  M.  Beebe,  Morgan  & 
Co.,  where  he  continued  until,  on  the  solicitation  of  George  Peabody  of 

[63] 


London,  he  gave  up  his  business  in  Boston  and,  in  1854,  was  made 
a  partner  of  the  London  banking  house  of  George  Peabody  &  Co. 
On  Mr.  Peabody's  retirement  in  1864,  the  firm  name  was  changed 
to  J.  S.  Morgan  &  Co.  Mr.  Morgan  gave  $100,000  to  the  funds 
of  the  Wadsworth  Atheneum.  His  death  was  caused  by  a  runaway 
accident  in  Monaco,  Italy,  in  April,  1890. 

His  son,  ].  Pierpont  Morgan,  was  to  perpetuate  the  name  and 
fame  of  his  family  and  in  these  present  days  he  has  erected  in  Hart- 
ford, adjoining  the  Wadsworth  Atheneum,  a  beautiful  memorial 
to  his  father, —  the  Junius  S.  Morgan  Art  Gallery. 

James  Junius  Goodwin,  a  director  in  the  Hartford  Fire  since 
1878,  is  a  son  of  Junius  S.  Morgan's  sister,  Lucy  Morgan,  and  James 
Goodwin,  Jr.,  who  was  a  director  from  1840  to  1878. 

The  directors,  viewing  the  situation  as  a  whole,  perhaps  at 
that  1819  supper,  realized  that  there  were  more  possibilities  than 
they  were  improving.  Their  mercantile  experience  and  commerce 
had  trained  them  to  look  far  beyond  the  confines  of  Hartford  and 
of  Connecticut,  and  they  were  convinced  that  Hartford  insurance 
as  well  as  Hartford  commerce  should  have  a  broader  field.  What 
agents  they  had  at  this  date  were  for  the  most  part  in  territory  from 
which  their  warehouses  drew  the  produce  which  they  shipped  away. 
The  field  beyond  was  not  well  covered  by  the  companies  that  had 
survived  the  trials  of  the  war  era. 

In  1820  there  were  twenty-eight  stock  companies  in  America. 
Of  these  seventeen  were  in  New  York  state,  half  a  dozen  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, two  in  Connecticut,  one  in  Rhode  Island,  one  in  Massachu- 
setts and  one  in  New  Jersey,  but  not  all  of  them  destined  to  a  long 
existence.  There  was  a  ban  on  foreign  insurance  companies. 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  had  laws  forbidding  them  to  do  busi- 
ness in  those  states  and  these  laws  were  not  repealed  until  after 
the  New  York  fire  of  1835. 

As  Mr.  Oviatt  remarks,  relative  to  many  of  the  companies, 
transacting  mostly  a  local  business  in  America:  "There  was  but 
little  security  behind  the  policies  issued  beyond  the  current  receipts 
and  the  good  faith  of  the  men  who  managed  the  companies." 

Agencies  had  been  planted  without  much  system.  There  was 
none  in  New  York  city  until  1821.  Compensation  was  a  matter 
of  individual  arrangement.  Men  of  the  highest  type,  men  whose 
names    are   conspicuous   in    all    branches   of  our   nation's   history, 

[64] 


lawyers,  statesmen,  literary  men,  doctors  and  clergymen  gradually 
came  into  service,  but  as  a  general  rule  they  sat  still  and  let  the 
business  come  to  them.  Whatever  they  received  in  way  of  com- 
pensation was  what  would  be  called  in  later-day  slang,  so  much 
"velvet."  There  was  no  special  incentive  to  "get  out  and  hustle"; 
no  one  was  receiving  enough  to  warrant  his  making  effort  as  a 
missionary. 

And  no  doubt  it  never  had  occurred  to  them  —  or  for  that  matter 
to  many  of  the  managers  until  this  period  —  that  such  work  could 
be  made  remunerative.  Population  had  been  scattered  and  had 
been  prone  to  "do  things  the  way  the  fathers  did."  Transportation 
facilities,  primitive  indeed  yet  a  marked  improvement  over  the 
stage-coach  and  the  old  mare's  back,  were  forcing  more  of  the 
swift  transitions  of  which  we  have  spoken.  Then,  too,  there  was 
the  hum  of  the  looms,  attracting  a  new  and  less  agricultural  popula- 
tion, and  the  movement  from  isolated  farm  to  crowded  city  had 
begun. 

What  had  been  luxuries  were  becoming  necessities,  and  protection 
from  loss  by  fire,  which  only  the  well-to-do  had  availed  themselves 
of,  must  be  extended  to  cover  the  many.  Owners  of  homes  were 
beginning  to  feel  it;  promoters  of  business  developments,  all-em- 
bracing and  vast  in  their  proportions,  demanded  it  as  the  chief 
guarantee  of  ultimate  success  through  certainty  and  security  of  the 
capital  they  put  into  the  fast  increasing  number  of  residences,  stores 
and  factories. 

All  things,  then,  were  working  together  to  increase  the  premium 
income  and  put  the  company  on  the  road  to  having  the  largest 
income  of  any  company  in  America.  A  story  passed  on  down  to 
the  present  generation  well  illustrates  the  requirements  which  were 
becoming  insistent.  The  story,  like  most  tradition,  has  elements 
of  untruth  in  it,  but,  also  like  most  tradition,  it  serves  to  indicate 
the  conditions. 

As  preserved  for  us,  the  tale  is  that  Secretary  Walter  Mitchell 
was  n't  "tending  up"  to  business.  As  previously  said,  his  home 
was  in  Wethersfield,  a  romantic  and  historic  farming  center  four 
miles  from  the  old  statehouse.  The  story  as  told  omits  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Mitchell  had  an  office  close  by  the  statehouse.  No.  26^ 
State  street,  and  that  said  office  was  also  the  office  of  the  insurance 
company.  It  leaves  us  to  infer  that  all  his  regular  business  was 
done  at  his  home  in  Wethersfield. 

[65] 


Now  the  significant  part  of  the  story  is  that  people  were  seeking 
insurance  and  the  community  was  much  stirred  by  the  annoyance, 
entailed  by  having  to  drive  wa)'  to  Wethersfield  when  a  policy  was 
wanted.  The  road  was  heavy  and  clayey,  and  there  was  small 
certainty  that  Squire  Mitchell  would  be  found  at  the  other  end  of 
the  route  to  make  out  the  desired  document.  He  is  represented 
as  having  been  testy  or  at  least  independent  and  indifferent.  Com- 
petition would  supply  a  fitting  spur  for  him. 

While  it  is  more  than  probable  that,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
there  were  days  when  his  Hartford  office  remained  closed  so  that 
insurance  could  not  be  had  promptly,  we  have  only  to  turn  back 
to  Donald  G.  Mitchell's  pen  portrait  of  his  uncle  Walter  for  refu- 
tation of  the  gossip  as  to  the  uncle's  personal  habits.  And  the 
directors  continued  him  in  office  until  1835  or  until  there  was  a 
complete  change  in  administration. 

The  Hartford  business  which  came  directly  to  Mr.  Mitchell 
was  considerable  but,  as  said,  what  was  agitating  the  minds  of  the 
directors  in  the  early  '20's  was  the  subject  of  business  that  ought 
to  be  coming  in  from  outside  of  Hartford,  from  towns  and  cities 
which  must  be  experiencing  the  same  insistence  of  requirements. 

For  the  year  ending  in  April,  1820,  the  books  showed  a  total 
in  premiums  of  55,258.48;  interest  brought  this  up  to  $8,066.53. 
In  January,  1819,  there  had  been  a  dividend  of  $2  and  an  instalment 
of  $2  paid  on  stock  subscriptions.  In  July  of  that  year  the  six 
months'  dividend  was  $1.  For  the  beginning  of  1820  the  old  book 
is  silent  as  to  the  matter  of  dividends  but  one  of  $1  was  voted  for 

With  premiums  (as  above)  of  $5,000  and  interest  of  $3,000, 
interest  was  eminently  satisfactory,  but,  all  things  considered,  it 
would  seem  that  the  premiums  should  play  a  somewhat  larger  part 
in  creating  the  fund  for  dividends.  Moreover,  the  beneficence  the 
company  had  to  offer  should  be  enjoyed  by  a  greater  number  of 
fellow  citizens. 

There  was  needed  a  more  definite  plan  as  to  the  compensation 
of  agents.  In  18 17  a  commission  of  5  per  cent  was  allowed,  with 
a  slight  increase  of  rates.  By  1820  that  was  the  regulation  com- 
mission, though  there  were  three  men  who  were  getting  10  per  cent 
on  premiums  exceeding  $1,000  any  one  year.  Gratuities  were 
voted  occasionally  for  special  services.  Apparently  the  5  per  cent 
scale  was  adopted  for  a  basis  with  exceptions  for  the  larger  cities. 

[  66] 


Hooker  Leavitt  was  appointed  agent  at  Greenfield,  Mass.,  on  this 
basis  in  the  latter  part  of  1819. 

In  1820  James  Seymour  was  made  the  representative  at  Auburn, 
N.  Y.  Then  came  an  enormous  stride  forward  with  the  appoint- 
ment of  Samuel  Cowls  at  Cleveland,  O.  Before  the  time  of  "daily 
reports,"  that  was  an  unconscionably  good  Sabbath  day's  journey 
from  Hartford,  but  the  directors  believed  they  knew  what  they 
were  about.     And  in  that  year  1820,  eleven  agents  were  enrolled. 

The  results  were  so  satisfactory  that  the  board  became  still 
more  venturesome  and  in  182 1  had  Anson  G.  Phelps  establish  an 
office  in  New  \'ork.  Mr.  Phelps,  who  was  to  become  one  of  the 
country's  foremost  philanthropists  and  head  of  a  well-known  family, 
had  been  engaged  in  managing  a  line  of  vessels  while  in  Hartford. 
When  the  war  interfered  with  this  occupation,  he  went  to  New 
York  in  18 15  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Elisha  Peck,  a  West 
Indian  merchant.  After  national  peace  and  quiet  had  been  restored 
and  it  was  possible  for  ships  to  put  to  sea  again  with  valuable  car- 
goes, he  built  up  the  leading  packet  line  of  the  country  and  mean- 
time was  creating  the  largest  store  in  New  York.  The  directors 
knew  Mr.  Phelps  personally  and  had  confidence  that  he  if  any  one 
could  place  the  risks  which  the  company  ought  to  have  in  the 
metropolis. 

The  same  year,  1821,  the  company  entered  Boston,  with  George 
Wales  as  its  representative  there,  and  Roger  S.  Skinner  was  ap- 
pointed at  New  Haven.  Mr.  Skinner  was  secretary  of  the  New 
Haven  Fire  Insurance  Company,  incorporated  in  1813  with  a  capital 
of  ;^ioo,ooo;  no  doubt  he  was  busy  on  a  plan  of  reinsurance  which 
was  to  make  another  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Hartford  Fire. 
After  1821,  the  number  of  appointments  increased  considerably 
and  the  foundation  was  complete  for  the  elaborate  system  of  today. 

The  dividend  in  1820  was  $1  each  six  months,  increased  for 
July,  1 82 1,  by  50  cents.  At  that  time  the  allowance  to  the  secretary 
for  the  preceding  six  months  was  fcoy,  which,  being  interpreted, 
must  mean  that  he  had  been  at  his  office  quite  a  little,  tradition  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  The  dividend  voted  the  following 
December  had  dropped  back  to  $1  and  the  allowance  to  Mr.  Mitchell 
had  increased  by  50  cents.  By  the  next  July  the  dividend  was  $1.50 
again. 

On  June  15,  1822,  it  was  voted  that  the  contract  of  Agent  Roger 
S.  Skinner  of  New  Haven  with  Samuel  Ward,  Harvey  Sanford  and 

[67] 


L.  E.  Wales,  as  a  committee  of  the  New  Haven  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  June  13,  1822,  agreeing  to  indemnify  the  New  Haven 
Fire  Insurance  Company  for  losses  by  fire,  be  ratified.  Such  is  the 
simple  record  of  the  first  case  of  reinsurance  in  this  country.  The 
vote  in  full  reads  as  follows : 

"Voted,  That  this  company  do  approve  and  hereby  ratify  the 
contract  entered  into  by  our  agent,  Rogers  S.  Skinner,  Esq.,  of 
New  Haven,  with  Samuel  Ward,  Harvey  Sanford  and  L.  E.  Wales, 
Esq.,  a  committee  of  the  New  Haven  Fire  Insurance  Company, 
dated  June  13,  1822,  agreeing  to  indemnify  said  New  Haven  Fire 
Insurance  Company  against  all  loss  and  damage  by  fire  in  conse- 
quence of  any  policy  of  insurance  issued  by  said  last  mentioned 
office." 

The  New  Haven  had  had  three  presidents  —  Isaac  Tomlinson, 
1813;  Charles  Denison  (see  list  of  original  subscribers),  1818,  and 
Simeon  Baldwin,  1820;  all  men  of  highest  standing  but  they  had 
not  been  able  to  make  a  success  of  the  business  they  had  under- 
taken.    The  charter  of  the  company  was  revoked  that  year. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  we  have  not  more  written  details  of  this 
historic  transaction.  A  subsequent  minute  shows  that  the  Hart- 
ford company  gave  bond  for  $150,000  (the  full  amount  of  its  own 
capital)  and  thus,  arguing  from  the  fact  that  the  reinsurance  did 
not  materially  increase  the  regular  receipts  of  the  Hartford  com- 
pany, we  may  conclude  that  the  bond  equaled  in  amount  the  entire 
sum  at  risk.     The  minute,  June  21,  1822,  is  simply  this: 

"Voted,  That  whereas  said  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company 
in  consideration  of  certain  sums  paid  to  them  by  the  New  Haven 
Fire  Insurance  Company  have  agreed  to  indemnify  and  save  harm- 
less said  last  mentioned  company  from  all  damage  and  loss  from 
the  unexpired  policies  which  have  been  issued  by  said  last  men- 
tioned office  or  company,  the  better  to  secure  the  fulfilment  of  said 
at'reement  therefore,  the  president  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance 
Company  is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  and  in  behalf  of 
said  last  mentioned  company  to  make  and  execute  a  bond  to  said 
New  Haven  Fire  Insurance  Company  in  the  penal  sum  of  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty  Thousand  Dollars,  the  condition  of  which  bond 
shall  be  that  if  said  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  shall  indem- 
nify and  save  harmless  said  New  Haven  Fire  Insurance  Company 
from  any  loss  or  damage  by  fire  upon  any  of  said  policies  a  list  of 
which  shall  be  annexed  to  said  bond,  then  said  bond  shall  be  void, 

[  68  1 


HEZEKIAH    HUNTINGTON 

PRESintNT 

184t    \*l>i 


which  bond  and  conditions  shall  be  signed  by  the  president  and 
countersigned  by  the  secretary  and  have  affixed  thereto  the  seal 
of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  have  date  the  2ist 
day  of  June,  A.  D.  1822,  and  this  company  will  indemnify  and 
save  harmless  said  president  and  secretary  from  all  loss  and  damage 
for  and  by  reason  of  said  bond." 

The  venture  was  successful.  Business  kept  up  well  and  the 
following  January  (1823),  there  was  a  dividend  of  $i  on  each  share 
of  stock. 

Plainly  the  company  was  becoming  more  important.  The 
duties  devolving  upon  its  officers,  accordingly,  were  becoming 
more  exacting,  or  that  is  to  say  they  were  requiring  a  little  more 
time  from  the  officers'  regular  vocations, —  a  foreshadowing  of 
readjustment.  Consequently,  on  May  31,  1823,  it  was  voted  that 
President  Nathaniel  Terry  should  receive  ^100  for  his  services  the 
past  six  months.  This  vote  was  repeated  regularly  each  six  months 
up  to  the  close  of  his  term  in  1835  when  an  extra  ^loo  was  given 
him  for  the  six  months  preceding.  Mr.  Mitchell  also  had  been 
receiving  a  little  more  and  by  1824  was  getting  a  total  of  $460,  with 
extra  allowance  for  office  rent  and  stationery.  From  that  figure 
there  was  a  drop  to  ^50  in  1830,  ^300  in  1831  and  $200  in  1832, 
after  he  had  received  additional  help. 

There  were  agents  then  as  far  away  as  Georgia  and  in  October 
of  this  year,  1823,  one  of  them,  at  Augusta,  was  registering  an 
objection.  Among  his  clients  was  one  who  objected  to  the  word 
"earthquake"  in  the  seventh  article  of  the  proposals;  he  held  that 
the  company  should  not  discriminate  against  earthquakes,  and 
the  directors  yielded,  giving  the  Augusta  agent  authority  to  erase 
the  word.  Augusta  has  been  tolerably  immune  from  earthquakes 
ever  since. 

New  Orleans  was  next  brought  into  the  Hartford's  territory, 
with  the  appointment  of  Samuel  T.  Coit  there  in  1824.  In  the 
same  year  Timothy  Dwight  was  appointed  in  New  Haven.  Mr. 
Dwight,  a  very  successful  New  Haven  merchant,  was  the  eldest 
son  of  President  Timothy  Dwight  (the  first)  of  Yale  College. 
He  died  in  1844.  Caleb  Mix  succeeded  him  in  the  agency  at  his 
death. 

Mr.  Dwight  in  1825  wrote  $20,000  on  Yale  College  buildings, 
which  was  reduced  to  $10,000  in  1841  and  continued  thus  until  1852. 
The   insurance   was    divided    as    follows,  the    first   column    being 

[71  ] 


the    original    insurance,    the    second    column    that    from    1841    to 
1852: 

BUILDING  '24-41  '4I-'52 

South  College, ^2,500  $1,2^0 

Atheneum, ....  750 

South  Middle  College, 2,000  1,000 

Lyceum, 2,500  1,250 

North  Middle  College, 2,000  1,000 

Old  Chapel, 1,500                

North  Chapel, 3,5°°  i'75° 

North  College, 3,250  1,625 

President's  House, 1,250  625 

Dining  Hall  or  Cabinet,      1,500  750 

(These  buildings,  constituting  the  "Old  Brick  Row"  and  the 
Cabinet  in  the  rear  of  them  and  the  president's  house  near  the 
northern  end,  have  been  torn  down  except  South  Middle,  the 
original  Connecticut  Hall.) 

Thus  the  history  of  the  oldest  college  in  the  state  is  associated 
with  the  history  of  the  oldest  insurance  company. 

In  May,  1826,  it  was  voted  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  an 
enlargement  of  the  charter  so  that  the  company  could  insure  steam- 
boats against  loss  by  water  as  well  as  by  fire,  and  vessels  at  sea 
against  loss  by  fire,  but  the  only  change  adopted  along  this  line 
was  that  already  noted  in  describing  the  charter  by  which  the  words 
(applying  to  ships  and  vessels)  "while  in  port"  were  erased. 

Since  1823  the  dividend  had  been  continuing  pretty  steadily 
at  a  total  of  ^4  or  ^4.50  a  year  when  in  1828  it  dropped  to  $2,  the  last 
being  $1  semi-annual  in  January,  1829,  and  there  were  to  be  no 
more  until  1841.  Unfortunate  as  that  was  for  stockholders,  it 
means  a  period  of  special  interest  for  present-day  readers  —  the 
period  of  readjustment. 


[72 


X 

SCHOOL  OF  EXPERIENCE— READJUSTMENT 

THE  second  decade  had  seen  transitions  that  were  swift, 
not  alone  as  viewed  in  retrospect  but  in  actual  fact.  Con- 
sequent readjustment  was  imperative  and  difficult.  The 
Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  in  the  school  of  experience 
and  the  schoolmaster  was  demanding  high  tuition  rates.  Some 
companies  paid  with  their  lives;  the  Hartford  proved  rugged  and 
capable  of  learning. 

First  and  most  important  there  were  the  fire  losses.  In  the 
three  years  at  the  beginning  of  the  decade,  or  from  April,  1820,  to 
November,  1823,  "^^e  losses  were  only  $66.25.  1  hat  was  encourag- 
ing for  expansion,  and  what  with  dividends  kept  at  normal  and 
office  expenditures  \^'ithin  bounds,  even  though  the  $200  salary 
was  voted  to  the  president  at  that  time,  there  was  something  to 
surplus.  That  there  was  enough  to  surplus  or  that  the  manage- 
ment had  any  conception  of  what  should  be  enough  is  not  to  be 
presumed,  for  that  stern  lesson  Experience  not  yet  had  taught. 

The  twelve  months  preceding  December,  1827,  showed  losses 
five-fold  greater  than  those  for  any  like  period  prior  thereto,  a  total 
of  $37,567.67.  In  September,  1827,  the  directors  voted  to  borrow 
money  from  the  Hartford  Bank  "on  the  company's  holding  of 
Hartford  Bank  stock  as  collateral."  The  dividend  for  that  six 
months  was  $2.50;  the  board  must  have  been  hopeful  if  not  cheerful. 

The  worst  was  to  betide  in  1829  when  the  losses  mounted  up 
to  the  staggering  figure  of  $89,469.59.  With  the  losses  that  came  in 
1830,  this  made  a  total  for  the  last  half  of  the  decade  of  $157,846  while 
the  premium  receipts  for  the  same  period  were  only  $136,257.29. 

Looking  back  over  both  decades,  to  the  beginning,  the  grand 
total  of  losses,  up  to  April,  1830,  was  $175,926.25,  to  which  must 
be  added  the  following  items:  Elxpenses,  $29,791.91;  dividends, 
$122,100.  The  income  had  been  this:  From  premiums,  $219,- 
640.97;  net  interest,  $21,656.32.  Thus  the  total  income  had  been 
$241,297.29  while  the  disbursements  had  been  $327,818.47  or 
$86,521.18  in  excess  of  income. 

[73] 


The  stock  was  losing  some  of  its  popularity.  Small  blocks  of 
it  were  changing  hands.  The  evidence  was  seen  in  the  board  of 
directors.  David  Watkinson,  who  had  left  the  board  in  1817  and 
had  come  back  in  1824,  completed  his  term  in  1830.  Others  whose 
names  drop  out  during  this  period  are:  Elisha  Colt,  1828;  Edward 
Watkinson,  1829;  Roswell  Bartholomew,  1830;  and  earlier  in 
the  decade  Thomas  Day,  1822;  Spencer  Whiting,  1823,  before 
the  troubles  had  set  in.  Thomas  Chester,  succeeding  Mr.  Whiting, 
had  served  but  two  years.  The  successors  to  these  men  had  been 
Seth  Terry,  Harvey  Seymour,  Edward  P.  Cook,  Anson  G.  Phelps 
(the  New  York  representative)  and  Luther  P.  Sargeant,  the  two 
last  mentioned  coming  in  in  1830. 

The  year  before  David  Watkinson  retired  from  the  board,  or 
in  1829,  Eliphalet  Terry  and  he  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
borrow  from  the  Hartford  Bank  not  exceeding  $60,000,  again 
pledging  as  security  the  stock  of  the  bank  owned  by  the  company 
and  also  the  stock  notes  for  the  third  instalment.  In  April,  1830, 
the  computations  revealed  an  impairment  of  capital  amounting 
to  ;^42,907.I4,  or  nearly  one-third  of  the  whole.  It  was  not  to  be 
forgotten  that  the  company  was  gaining  a  good  foothold,  for  it 
lived  up  to  every  obligation  however  heavy;  but,  that  consideration 
aside,  the  bald  fact  was  that,  to  wipe  out  the  deficiency,  the  stock- 
holders were  liable  to  the  extent  of  about  15  per  cent  on  their  stock 
notes,  over  and  above  the  securities  in  the  treasury. 

But  the  day  of  readjustment  had  come  not  for  insurance  com- 
panies alone.  There  was  new  industry,  new  development,  in  every 
quarter.  The  banking  system  for  the  country  was  far  from  being 
abreast  of  the  progress  in  population  and  invention;  the  active 
limbs  of  the  young  nation  were  not  wholly  free  from  swaddling 
clothes,  and  it  was  none  too  easy  to  determine  what  the  right  things 
should  be. 

In  1824  the  Connecticut  River  Company  had  been  incorporated 
with  office  in  Hartford  and  with  Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  Nathaniel 
Terry,  Eliphalet  Terry  and  Daniel  Buck  on  the  board  of  directors. 
The  intent  was  to  develop  the  Connecticut  River's  possibilities,  and 
in  1829  '^he  present  Connecticut  River  Banking  Company,  organized 
in  connection  therewith,  began  business.  In  1828  the  Hartford 
Fire  had  voted  to  invest  in  one  hundred  and  twenty  shares  of  the 
Connecticut  River  Company,  and  throughout  the  insurance  men 
gave  their  encouragement  to  the  new  and  successful  undertaking. 

[74] 


Men  of  the  Hartford  Fire  also  were  interested  in  the  Phoenix 
Bank  (estabhshed  in  1814)  and  were  to  be  interested  in  the  Farmers' 
and  Mechanics'  Bank,  1833,  and  in  the  Exchange  Bank,  1834,  of 
which  EHsha  Colt  was  to  be  president  in  1849.  This  in  addition 
to  the  great  interest  in  the  Hartford  Bank,  and  all  to  indicate  what 
manner  of  men  they  were  who  had  the  destinies  of  the  Hartford 
Fire  Insurance  Company  in  their  hands  in  the  earlier  days. 

For  another  side-light,  we  learn  that  Major  Terry,  the  president 
of  the  company,  was  the  mayor  of  the  city  from  1824  to  1831,  or 
through  much  of  this  distressing  time  which  we  are  now  reviewing. 

Within  the  old  law  office  of  Secretary  Mitchell  the  increase  and 
complication  of  business  was  having  its  effect.  The  correspondence 
was  large,  book-keeping  considerable  and  there  was  needed  a  closer 
oversight  of  the  losses  than  Secretary  Mitchell,  Mayor-President 
Terry  or  any  other  man  with  many  outside  interests  could  give.  It 
was  necessary  to  employ  some  one  man  who  could  devote  practically 
his  whole  time  to  a  business  which,  by  1910,  was  to  require  the 
whole  time  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  people  at  the  home  office  alone. 

So  Lewis  Bliss  was  appointed  "clerk"  in  February,  1829.  He 
was  to  receive  such  compensation  as  should  be  allowed  by  the  board 
of  directors  when  making  the  semi-annual  dividend.  The  terms 
were  satisfactory  to  the  young  man  and  he  at  once  entered  upon 
his  duties,  which  quickly  proved  to  be  more  wide-reaching  than 
had  been  expected.  In  other  words,  here  is  another  example  of 
swift  transitions. 

Hardly  had  Mr.  Bliss  begun  his  work  of  taking  care  of  the  mail 
and  keeping  up  the  books  at  his  little  desk  in  the  corner  of  the  law 
office,  with  its  shelves  of  law  books  and  cupboards  and  drawers  of 
legal  documents,  when  he  was  sent  South  to  adjust  the  heavy  claims 
that  had  come  in  from  Augusta  and  Savannah.  That  was  in  the 
latter  part  of  April. 

It  was  the  first  time  a  home  office  man  had  been  sent  on  such 
a  mission  and  again  we  find  new  experience  for  the  untrained. 
But  Mr.  Bliss  proved  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  had  the  con- 
sciousness that  the  company  wished  to  do  the  right  thing  in  every 
case,  that  there  was  abundant  backing  and  that  there  must  be  no 
such  word  as  fail.  He  was  vested  with  authority  to  draw  drafts 
on  the  company,  payable  sixty  days  after  adjustment  was  com- 
pleted. Though  we  have  no  detailed  record  of  this  trip,  we  know 
that  here,  as  later  in  the  New  York,  Chicago,  Boston,  Baltimore 

[75] 


and  San  Francisco  fires,  the  adjustments  were  prompt  and  satis- 
factory and  that  the  company  made  an  enviable  record  for  itself, 
even  if  it  did  have  to  raise  the  money  by  loan  from  the  bank,  as 
previously  told. 

At  the  December  meeting  of  the  directors,  Mr.  Bliss's  pay  for 
the  preceding  six  months  w^as  fixed  at  {^250  and  that  was  the  basis 
for  the  whole  year.  It  continued  at  that  sum  until  1832  when  it 
was  raised  to  $600  a  year  and  then  in  1835  to  58oo. 

With  business  fairly  developing  itself,  we  might  say,  and  yet 
with  losses  most  serious, —  with  both  financial  and  business  prob- 
lems crowding,  in  this  year  1830  —  it  is  desirable  to  know  not  only 
of  the  leaders  in  the  company  but  something  about  the  life  and 
customs  of  the  holders  of  its  stock.  Were  they  of  a  sort  to  be  easily 
disturbed  and  thrown  into  a  panic  ?  Were  they  of  speculative 
disposition,  wishing  to  change  from  one  thing  to  another  ?  In 
time  of  stress  would  they  feel  obliged  to  sacrifice  valuable  holdings 
or,  as  the  directors  had  done,  could  they  tide  themselves  over  by 
utilizing  a  well  established  credit  ? 

In  all  the  transitions  we  have  been  noting,  the  principles  of 
the  men  of  means  in  Hartford  had  not  changed  one  iota.  Then 
as  today,  they  were  the  bedrock  principles  of  honest  finance.  These 
men  had  securities  in  plenty,  considering  the  times.  The  changes 
in  the  directorate  were  by  no  means  symptoms  of  alarm.  Failures 
were  rare  in  any  line  of  business.  They  were  bold  men  rather 
than  timid,  and  yet  they  had  the  conservatism  of  long-headedness 
and  foresightedness. 

Indeed,  there  had  not  been  much  change  since  the  year  when 
Historian  Goodrich  ("Peter  Parley")  wrote  of  Hartford:  "It  has 
a  high  tone  of  general  respectability  and  intelligence."  The  "few 
merchants  and  many  shopkeepers"  he  referred  to  then  had  increased 
reasonably  in  number  and  it  may  be  that  there  were  still  a  "few 
dainty  patricians  holding  themselves  aloof."  But  fictitious  values 
there  were  none.  The  wild  speculation  of  1825,  beginning  with 
cotton  and  involving  West  India  produce,  disturbing  public  funds 
and  bringing  distress  in  America  and  abroad,  had  made  small  stir 
in  Hartford. 

The  country  had  a  population  of  12,800,000  and  was  enjoying 
almost  unexampled  prosperity.  While  the  currency  was  not  all 
that  could  be  desired  and  the  long-drawn-out  discussion  about 
giving  the  United  States  Bank  a  new  lease  of  life  was  unsettling, 

[76] 


the  federal  treasury  was  in  excellent  condition  and  the  tariff  laws 
of  the  administrations  of  Monroe  and  John  Ouincy  Adams  were 
working  to  the  benefit  of  most  of  the  country.  The  West  India 
trade  had  been  lost  to  England  to  be  sure,  through  the  conditions 
in  the  treaty  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  1 8 12,  but  Hartford  merchants 
were  confident  of  a  favorable  result  of  the  negotiations  with  Great 
Britain  on  this  subject,  stubborn  as  the  British  government  had 
seemed  to  be.  What  with  these  the  leading  topics  and  with  watch- 
ing the  course  of  Jackson  in  his  first  term  as  President,  the  Hartford 
people  had  enough  to  keep  them  alert  and  also  enough  to  reassure 
them  as  to  the  country's  future. 

Hartford  citizens,  then,  were  serene,  optimistic,  with  good 
homes,  good  churches,  good  schools,  good  local  administration, 
good  institutions,  good  investments  and  a  fair  amount  of  creature 
comforts.  Several  of  them  had  coaches  of  their  own,  including 
President  Terry,  Ward  Woodbridge  and  Daniel  Wadsworth.* 
One  of  the  "Patten  letters,"  speaking  of  the  wealth  in  1830,  notes 
and  bitterly  bewails  that  "one  person  in  the  town  owes  nearly 
$1,000."     Debt  for  any  amount  was  frowned  upon. 

With  this  knowledge  of  the  life,  custom  and  conditions,  we 
reasonably  may  assume  that,  in  the  seeming  crisis  for  the  Hartford 
Fire  Insurance  Company,  calm  council  would  prevail  and  that  a 
sensible  plan  of  readjustment  would  be  worked  out  from  within  — 
no  wild  excitement,  no  sacrificing  of  interests  but  always  a  thorough 
appreciation  of  what  the  company  should  be.  And  such  was  the 
case. 

*  Mr.  Wadsworth's  coach  is  described  as  being  hung  on  straps  (like  Washington's),  drawn  by  four 
horses  and  with  coachmen  in  b'very  when  the  owner  set  out  for  a  tour  into  the  country. 


[77 


XI 

NEW  REGIME 

THERE  was  firm  conviction  that  the  company's  foundations 
had  been  proved  to  be  everlastingly  secure.  With  calm 
counsel  still  prevailing  year  by  year  and  yet  with  a  strong 
undercurrent  of  sentiment  that  the  company's  affairs  were  coming 
to  demand  closer  application  perhaps  than  some  could  give  them, 
matters  moved  on.  In  1834  Mr.  Phelps  left  the  board  as  he  wished 
to  devote  all  his  time  to  his  increasing  interests  in  New  York.  That 
year  also  Edward  P.  Cook,  Luther  P.  Sargeant  and  Isaac  Thompson 
were  replaced  by  Isaac  D.  Bull  and  Fontienne  Raphel  who  were 
to  remain  only  one  year,  and  by  Roswell  B.  Ward  who  was  to  con- 
tinue for  two  years.  Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  was  the  other 
new  member,  destined  to  be  president  from  1849  ^'^  1864. 

The  year  swung  round,  with  office  work  increasing,  with  votes 
of  ;^50  for  the  engine  for  Fire  Company  No.  4,  of  fcoo  payment  to 
President  Nathaniel  Terry  for  six  months'  services  and  38oo  as  a 
year's  salary  for  Clerk  Bliss,  and  with  still  keener  realization  of 
the  growth  of  the  company,  as  we  have  noted,  necessitating  more 
system  and  care. 

President  Terry  had  completed  his  twenty-fifth  year  and  with 
the  exception  of  James  H.  Wells,  who  remained  one  year  longer, 
was  the  last  of  the  original  directors.  During  his  term  of  office 
the  seedling  company  had  developed  into  a  lusty  tree.  Its  roots 
had  struck  deep  and  its  branches  were  extending  farther  and  more 
rapidly  than  could  have  been  foreseen.  The  larger  it  grew,  the 
more  exacting  was  to  be  the  obligation  of  those  in  charge  of  it  and 
the  greater  must  be  the  number  of  them.  Secretary  Mitchell  also 
could  feel  satisfaction  as  he  contemplated  the  development  since 
that  June  day  in  1810  when  he  opened  the  new  record  book  and 
put  his  name  to  the  minutes  of  the  first  meeting. 

With  money-making  a  secondary  consideration,  directors  and 
officers  had  made  their  way  carefully  until  now  for  a  year  or  two  it 
had  been  evident  thatfuU  business  methods  should  be  employed  if  the 
capital  invested  were  to  have  fair  return,  if  there  were  to  be  absolute 

[78] 


TIMOTHY  C.  ALLYN 

PRESIDENT 
1864-1867 


security  for  the  larger  and  more  widely  distributed  number  who  were 
taking  out  policies,  if  the  company  of  Terry  and  Watkinson  and 
\^  oodbrid<re  and  IVIitchell  and  all  the  rest  was  to  fulfill  its  real  mission. 

O 

The  board  of  directors  elected  at  the  meeting  of  stockholders 
in  June,  1835,  consisted  of  Eliphalet  Terry,  Hezekiah  Huntington, 
Jr.,  James  H.  Wells,  Samuel  H.  Huntington,  Frank  J.  Huntington, 
Albert  Day,  Samuel  Williams,  Roswell  B.  Ward  and  Elisha  Colt 
who  was  elected  for  his  fourth  period.  Of  these,  Mr.  Terry  was 
to  serve  till  1849,  Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  till  1865,  James  H. 
Wells  till  August,  1835,  Samuel  H.  Huntington  till  1848  (but  with 
the  year  1842  out),  F.  J.  Huntington  till  1836,  Albert  Day  even 
till  1874,  Samuel  Williams  till  1837,  Roswell  B.  Ward  till  1836 
and  Elisha  Colt  till  1836. 

Here  was  more  permanency  established  than  had  been  known 
since  the  early  days.  And  the  following  year  were  to  come  on 
Job  Allyn  who  was  to  serve  almost  continuously  until  1867,  Junius 
S.  Morgan  who  was  to  serve  until  1852  with  only  one  year  out  and 
George  Putnam  who  was  to  serve  four  years.  Edwin  D.  Morgan, 
who  was  elected  in  1836,  remained  but  one  year  and  then  later  served 
another  term  of  one  year,  from  1840  to  1841.  It  was  an  epoch 
in  that  men  were  coming  in  who  were  to  remain  with  the  company 
along  into  its  second  half  century.  Some  of  them  are  well  remem- 
bered by  men  in  active  life  today. 

This  board  organized  promptly  by  electing  Eliphalet  Terry  presi- 
dent and  James  G.  Bolles  secretary.  President  Terry  was  double 
cousin  of  his  predecessor,  their  fathers  being  brothers  and  their 
mothers  sisters,  and  from  New  England's  best  stock.  Asked  for  a 
sketch  of  her  father  for  the  company's  archives,  Mrs.  Mary  Terry  Col- 
lins of  Yonkers-on-the-Hudson  responded  as  follows  a  few  years  ago : 

Eliphalet  Terry  was  a  representative  man  of  Hartford  of  his  generation 
in  the  exact  sense  of  that  term  so  often  carelessly  applied,  and  is  worthy  of 
especial  notice,  for  epitomizing  as  an  individual  the  characteristic  traits  of  that 
nohle  and  honored  town.  As  Hartford  is  a  city  of  heriditary  consequence, 
of  historic  renown,  of  inherited  traditions,  so  Eliphalet  Terry  traced  his 
descent  from  many  a  name,  held  in  honor  among  the  New  England  Colonies. 

His  father,  Judge  Eliphalet  Terry  of  Enfield,  Conn.,  represented  his 
town  in  the  General  Assembly  for  thirty-three  years  continuously  in  the  days 
when  the  most  honored  men  were  chosen  for  such  service,  and  in  Enfield, 
Eliphalet  Terry,  jr.,  was  born  on  Christmas  Day  in  the  memorable  year  of 
1776.     His  maternal  great  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Collins,  pastor 

[8.  ] 


of  Enfield  Church,  was  the  grandson  of  Deacon  Edward  Collins  of  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  who  corresponded  in  cipher  with  the  regicides,  GoiFe  and 
Whaley,  and  disbursed  to  them  the  moneys  sent  them  from  England.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Collins  married  Alice  Adams,  a  granddaughter  of  Governor  William 
Bradford.  Inheriting  from  both  his  parents  rare  and  sterling  qualities,  and 
from  a  long  line  of  godly  ancestry  a  strongly  religious  character,  of  the 
hereditary  type,  the  boy  of  19,  brought  to  Hartford  in  the  year  1795  the 
energy,  courage  and  business  ability  destined  to  ensure  success  and  win  for 
him  a  place  among  the  foremost  men  of  his  town. 

He  first  entered  the  store  of  Mr.  Church  at  the  junction  of  Main  street 
and  Windsor  and  Albany  avenues,  and  in  five  years  had  gained  the  experi- 
ence and  ability  to  succeed  to  the  business  in  his  own  name  upon  the  death 
of  his  employer.  Later  a  younger  brother,  Roderick,  was  associated  with 
him,  and  the  firm  of  E.  &  R.  Terry  was  honored  for  thirty  years  as  repre- 
senting the  highest  business  integrity.  Eliphalet  Terry  retired  from  business 
in  1830  and  then  devoted  himself  to  those  works  of  public  usefulness  and 
far-reaching  benevolence  that  are  perpetuated  in  many  valuable  institutions 
of  the  present  time.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  that  early  time  the  large 
associations  for  benevolence  were  not  in  existence  and  those  men  were  but 
the  pioneers. 

With  a  few  others  who  believed  with  him  that  the  interests  of  his  town 
demanded  the  step,  he  withdrew  from  the  Center  Church  and  founded  the 
North  Church  in  1824,  over  which  Horace  Bushnell  was  so  long  the  beloved 
pastor.  In  all  church  work  and  kindred  activities,  Mr.  Terry's  energies 
were  tireless,  he  not  only  raising  or  contributing  large  sums  of  money  but 
also  giving  his  personal  interest  and  care.  And  the  same  spirit  of  Christian 
responsibility  led  him  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  politics,  believing  his  duty 
to  his  country  second  only  to  his  duty  to  the  church  of  God. 

His  private  life  was  beautiful  and  without  reproach.  Called  early  to 
fill  the  place  of  both  father  and  mother  to  his  little  children,  he  reared  them 
with  all  fidelity  and  tenderness  and  they  now  rise  up  to  call  him  blessed. 
Mr.  Terry  died  July  8,  1849,  and  sleeps  in  the  North  Burj'ing-ground  in 
Hartford. 

In  his  business  integrity  and  energy,  his  fidelity  to  public  and  private 
duty,  his  strong  religious  character^  his  public-spirited  benevolence,  Eliphalet 
Terry  typifies  the  best  and  truest  spirit  of  the  town  where  he  lived  and  died, 
and  those  who  remember  and  love  old  Hartford  remember  it  as  personified 
in  such  men  as  he,  and  those  who  remember  and  love  such  men  as  he  may 
know  from  them  what  manner  of  city  was  the  Hartford  of  sixty  years  ago. 

The  biographers  and  historians  of  the  city  and  county  place 
as  high  an  estimate  upon  Mr.  Terry's  character  as  does  she  who 
knew  him  so  well. 

[82  ] 


S^retary  Bolles  was  a  man  admirably  adapted  for  the  duties 
he  \wis  to  discharge  faithfully  for  fifteen  years.  In  later  life  he 
was  collector  of  internal  revenue. 

The  next  act  of  the  new  directors  was  to  put  Clerk  Bliss  upon 
a  regular  salary  of  $800  and  to  appoint  Christopher  C.  Lyman  a 
clerk  at  a  salary  of  5400.  Though  Mr.  Lyman's  original  appoint- 
ment was  for  only  six  months  —  they  had  then  no  way  of  judging 
of  a  man's  special  fitness  for  a  position  of  this  sort  by  the  work  he 
had  done  in  insurance  —  Mn  Lyman  was  to  remain  a  most  useful 
member  of  the  office  force  for  two  score  and  three  years,  leaving 
a  name  that  is  highly  cherished  today.  It  was  not  long  before  the 
exigencies  of  the  office  made  it  necessary  to  give  him  the  power  to 
sign  policies  and  countersign  checks  as  the  assistant  of  the  secretary 
and  perform  other  duties  of  much  responsibility.  Subsequently 
he  declined  an  increase  of  salary,  maintaining  that  what  he  wa.s 
receiving  was  as  much  as  an  assistant  secretary  ought  to  receive. 
At  various  times  he  bought  stock  and  eventually  became  one  of 
the  company's  largest  stockholders. 

Another  step  was  the  removal  of  the  office  from  Mr.  Mitchell's 
law  office,  No.  26 J  State  street,  to  No.  16  State  street,  just  west 
of  the  old  location  and  still  close  to  the  Hartford  Bank.  The  new 
office,  while  far  from  being  pretentious,  was  neatly  furnished  and, 
what  makes  it  especially  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection,  it  was 
devoted  wholly  to  the  business  of  fire  insurance. 

The  successive  stages  were  passed  —  the  stages  of  experiment, 
of  letting  well  enough  alone  and  of  learning  that  the  roots  should 
grow  proportionately  with  the  branches.  It  was  business  now, 
business  for  all  concerned.  Tradition  has  it  that  certain  wiseacres, 
like  those  to  be  found  in  every  generation  in  every  town,  knowingly 
shook  their  heads;  but  the  community  as  a  whole  had  the  utmost 
faith  in  the  judgment  of  the  new  administration  and  the  outside 
world  soon  was  to  receive  unmistakable  proof  of  it.  Throughout 
the  company's  history,  the  best  characteristics  of  each  adminis- 
tration have  been  continued  in  the  next. 


83] 


XII 
FIRE  TRIED  BY  THE  NEW  YORK  CALAMITY 

EVERYWHERE  was  the  evidence  of  new  blood  and  gradual 
readjustment.  In  August  (1835)  it  was  decided  to  make 
special  use  of  the  secretary  by  sending  him  to  establish  new 
agencies,  trusting  him  to  select  the  men  and  to  make  the  contracts 
with  them.  Leaving  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Lyman  to  look  after  the 
office,  Secretary  BoUes  started  on  a  journey  which  was  to  prove 
eminently  satisfactory  to  the  company. 

James  H.  Wells,  who  had  been  a  director  since  18 10,  sold  his 
stock  in  August  and  resigned  as  director.  Edwin  D.  Morgan  was 
chosen  to  succeed  him. 

The  premium  receipts  were  enjoying  a  healthy  growth  and 
the  first  half  year  of  1835  was  marked  by  but  few  losses,  less  than 
j^3,ooo.  At  the  November  meeting  the  directors  expressed  their 
gratification  by  voting  President  Terry  ^300  salary  for  the  six 
months  (with  a  special  vote  of  thanks  to  him),  making  Secretary 
Bolles's  5500  and  giving  Mr.  Lyman  $50  extra. 

A  dividend  was  in  sight,  the  first  since  1829,  and  the  directors, 
following  old-time  custom,  had  a  supper  at  which  congratulations 
were  exchanged  and  bright  prospects  for  the  future  were  discussed. 
The  story  of  that  supper  would  make  interesting  reading  but  it  soon 
was  to  be  driven  from  mind  and  nothing  but  the  fact  that  there  was  a 
supper  remains  to  us — in  itself  enough,  however,  to  furnish  contrast 
with  the  story  of  the  next  day,  which  is  history  of  the  largest  kind. 

The  next  day  was  December  16  and  the  news  was  heralded 
that,  while  the  directors  had  been  dining,  the  city  of  New  York 
had  been  the  prey  of  flames,  had  had  the  worst  fire  in  its  history. 
The  main  part  of  the  business  portion  of  the  city,  lying  between 
Wall,  South  and  Broad  streets  and  Coenties  slip,  was  in  ashes. 
In  the  intense  cold,  it  had  been  next  to  impossible  to  make  use  of 
what  few  facilities  they  possessed  for  fighting  the  flames.  Water 
had  to  be  drawn  from  the  river;  it  froze  in  the  hose  and  the  strong 
northeast  winds  drove  the  flames  at  will  until  at  length  blown-up 
buildings  furnished  a  space  over  which  the  flames  could  not  leap. 

[84] 


Nothing  like  it  ever  had  been  known  in  this  country.  The  later 
calamities  in  Chicago,  Boston,  Baltimore,  and  even  in  San  Francisco 
caused  no  greater  thrill  of  horror.  The  actual  loss  of  $20,000,000 
impressed  itself  at  the  time  as  overwhelming,  with  nothing  left  of 
nearly  700  buildings  but  smoldering  ruins.  Panic  seized  upon 
merchants  and  bankers  when  one  insurance  company  after  another 
confessed  that  the  ruin  had  dragged  it  down. 

Roused  from  their  dreams  of  plenty,  President  Terry  and 
Secretary  Bolles  did  not  hesitate  a  moment.  There  were  not  at 
hand  maps  like  those  of  the  present  day  nor  yet  the  modern  full 
statistical  records  by  which  an  estimate  of  the  company's  loss  could 
be  made.  It  was  known  simply  that  the  loss  must  be  very  heavy 
and  there  must  be  no  delay  in  helping  to  stem  the  tide  of  disaster 
which  threatened  to  spread  throughout  the  country. 

It  was  a  bitterly  cold  morning,  the  thermometer  below  zero. 
There  were  no  nicely  heated  parlor  cars,  with  breakfasts  waiting 
in  them,  attached  to  fast  expresses  to  carry  the  company's  repre- 
sentatives to  the  scene.  Other  strong  hearts  well  might  have 
quailed,  but  Mr.  Terry  and  Mr.  Bolles  were  ready  as  soon  as  a 
sleigh  could  be  procured.  Meantime  Mr.  Terry  had  been  to  the 
officers  of  the  Hartford  Bank,  on  which  he  would  draw,  and  had 
pledged  his  whole  fortune  as  security.  It  was  a  long  and  tedious 
journey,  with  nothing  to  cheer  them,  with  only  a  sad  and  depressing 
prospect. 

While  sufferers  from  the  flames  were  in  the  depths  of  despair, 
consternation  reigned  among  the  outsiders  whose  buildings  had 
not  been  harmed,  because,  from  what  they  had  heard,  fire  insurance 
was  a  sham  and  they  were  without  protection.  In  the  moment 
when  they  felt  that  fire  insurance  had  failed,  they  realized  the  need 
of  it  more  than  ever.  With  the  smoke  still  rising,  it  was  difficult  to 
analyze  and  exactly  fix  the  fault,  but  fault  there  was  somewhere 
and  the  whole  system  must  be  condemned. 

"We  will  show  them,"  Mr.  Terry  was  saying  on  his  journey. 
The  importance  to  them,  and  to  the  future  prosperity  of  the  country, 
of  having  some  one  show  them,  no  man  could  appreciate  fully 
until  he  stood  among  the  sufferers.  Mr.  Terry  remained  calm 
and  as  soon  as  he  was  permitted  to  express  himself  he  coolly  gave 
assurance  that  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  would  meet 
every  obligation,  to  the  last  cent. 

This  first  word  of  encouragement,  incredible  as  it  sounded  at 

[85] 


first  but  coming  directly  from  the  president  himself,  had  a  wonder- 
ful effect.  Men  who  never  had  realized  the  value  of  insurance 
began  to  listen  and  then  to  praise  and  extol.  It  was  Hke  a  Black 
Friday  and  yet  it  was  a  red  letter  day  for  the  Hartford. 

What  he  had  said  they  would  do,  Mr.  Terry  and  his  associates 
did,  and  did  it  because  they  thought  it  their  business  and  duty  to 
do  it.  Shipman,  Corning  &  Co.  furnished  them  an  office  to  which 
the  claimants  crowded.  Edwin  D.  Morgan  assisted  in  every  way 
and  William  Walker  (the  New  York  agent)  and  his  partner  not 
only  eked  out  the  office  accommodations  but  were  invaluable  with 
their  aid  in  adjusting.  It  was  not  till  along  in  February  that  the 
tremendous  task  was  finished.  The  company  had  paid  out  a  total 
of  ^64,973.34. 

Had  President  Terry's  action  been  planned  carefully  in  advance 
and  purely  for  commercial  advantage  instead  of  being  in  obedience 
to  the  dictates  of  the  business  conscience  of  himself  and  his  com- 
pany, it  could  have  received  ncf  higher  praise  for  generalship.  In 
so  bravely  stemming  the  adverse  tide,  he  actually  turned  it  his  way. 
Men  follow  him  who  restores  their  confidence,  and  men  followed 
the  representatives  of  the  Hartford  Fire  in  New  York  till  the  deple- 
tion in  assets  soon  was  made  more  than  good. 

The  premium  income  for  the  six  months  preceding  April,  1835, 
was  $19,260.15;  for  the  corresponding  six  months,  ending  in  April, 
1836,  the  income  was  $97,841.75.  It  never  was  to  recede.  As 
P.  H.  Woodward  says  in  his  sketch,  "The  day  of  small  things  has 
passed."  There  was  still  more  to  it;  there  was  a  broader  signifi- 
cance. Mr.  Terry  was  making  history  for  the  Hartford  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company  by  that  terrible  ride  to  New  York;  he  was  making 
history  also  for  commerce  of  the  United  States  for  he  was  one  of 
those  to  demonstrate  that  genuine  fire  insurance  is  salvation  for 
people  whose  property  is  consumed  whether  in  a  conflagration  or 
in  a  small  fire. 

And  when  the  commentators  say  Mr.  Terry,  they  mean  the 
Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  since  he  was  but  the  embodi- 
ment of  its  undying  spirit.  The  directors  at  home,  endorsing  him 
in  all  his  actions,  expressed  their  appreciation  in  their  records, 
ordered  payment  of  Shipman,  Corning  &  Co.  for  the  use  of  their 
office,  along  with  a  vote  of  gratitude,  made  substantial  recognition 
of  the  kindness  of  William  Walker  and  his  partners  and  gave  Mr. 
Walker  $400  as  commutation  for  income  he  would  have  received 

[86] 


as  agent  had  not  the  new  business  been  assumed  by  the  company's 
officers. 

President  Eliphalet  Terry  found  it  necessary  to  give  more  of 
his  time  to  the  business  than  his  predecessor  had  been  obHged  to, 
yet  he  had  other  interests  appeaUng  to  him,  and  his  own  affairs 
and  the  company's  were  hkely  to  call  him  away  from  town  for 
several  days  at  a  time.  By  February  of  this  year,  1836,  it  was 
deemed  wise,  therefore,  to  have  a  vice  president  in  the  board  of 
directors  and  Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  was  honored  with  the 
position,  the  first  formal  vice  president  the  company  had  had. 
No  specific  office  work  devolved  upon  him  and  there  was  no 
salary  attached  to  the  office,  then  or  until  1903. 

Not  only  in  New  York  but  throughout  the  land,  one  result  of 
the  New  York  fire  was  to  arouse  more  and  more  people  to  the  need 
of  fire  insurance;  the  name  of  the  Hartford  having  gone  far  and 
wide,  old  agencies  were  doing  more  work  and  clearly  it  was  time 
to  be  establishing  new  ones.  In  May,  Samuel  H.  Huntington  was 
sent  as  far  as  Indiana  to  select  good  men  to  look  after  the  company's 
interests  in  the  Hoosier  State  which  was  well  on  the  road  to  its 
present  prosperity. 

At  the  directors'  meeting  in  May  the  matter  of  travel  by  directors 
and  officers  in  behalf  of  the  company,  hitherto  mostly  at  their  own 
expense,  was  discussed  with  the  result  that  it  was  ordered  that 
thereafter  the  sum  of  $3  a  day  and  expenses  be  allowed  to  any 
director  making  trips  in  the  company's  interests.  At  the  same 
time  $150  extra  was  voted  to  President  Terry  with  ^200  for  his 
salary  for  the  preceding  six  months;  $150  extra  to  Secretary  Bolles 
in  addition  to  his  salary  of  $500,  and  ^50  in  addition  to  Assistant 
Secretary  Lyman's  salary  of  $100.  Then  the  question  of  the  secre- 
tary's traveling  expenses  came  to  demand  attention  and  in  June  it  was 
decreed  that  an  allowance  of  $2  a  day  should  be  made  him  and  the 
company  cover  all  his  expenses  while  away  from  home  on  the  various 
trips  he  was  called  upon  to  take  for  the  welfare  of  the  business. 

The  premium  income  this  first  year  after  the  fire  was  ;^  124,992 
as  against  $37,732  the  previous  year,  a  gain  of  $87,260  or  232  per 
cent.  It  was  nearly  half  as  much  again  as  the  total  losses  by  the 
New  York  fire.  And  yet  the  directors  had  been  so  well  pleased 
with  those  1835  figures  that  they  had  had  a  joyous  supper. 

Much  insight  is  to  be  gained  from  a  further  analysis  of  these 
premium  figures. 

[87] 


XIII 
HEAVIER  LOSSES,  GREATER  INCREMENT 

THIS  relatively  enormous  increase  in  premium  income  in 
1836  tells  of  more  than  the  increase  in  agencies,  but  we 
will  consider  that  increase  first  since  it  is  such  an  essential 
part  of  the  company's  story. 

The  new  states  added  to  the  list  that  year  were  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan,  eleven  in  all,  to 
say  nothing  of  Canada  where  also  the  company  had  made  entrance. 
That  is  a  larger  increase  by  states  than  marks  any  other  one  year 
before  or  since.  On  the  books  there  were  already  a  few  policies  in 
parts  of  this  territory  but  there  had  been  no  regular  agencies  there. 

The  size  of  this  premium  income  also  may  be  taken  as  indicating 
another  new  era  for  all  fire  insurance  in  America.  One  of  the 
lessons  taught  by  the  New  York  fire  was  that  rates  were  inadequate. 
The  people  having  learned  the  value  of  insurance  they  were  willing 
to  pay  what  the  companies  thought  were  adequate  rates  for  risks 
assumed,  and  there  was  a  more  reasonable  margin  for  commissions 
for  the  agents  who  placed  the  risks.  Thus  was  the  task  of  extending 
the  network  of  agencies  greatly  facilitated. 

It  was  especially  important  to  the  Hartford  that  only  the  best 
men  be  selected  as  representatives,  and  frequent  trips  from  the 
home  office  were  consequently  imperative.  ■  (We  must  not  forget 
how  this  "home  office"  looked  even  then  —  scarcely  larger  than 
the  rooms  of  many  rural  agents  of  the  present  time  and  perhaps 
not  as  well  furnished.)  We  have  seen  the  caution  exercised  in 
placing  risks  when  the  business  was  mostly  local  and  that  the  first 
agents  were  appointed  only  after  due  consideration  by  the  board 
of  directors.  One  conflagration,  not  to  mention  other  experiences, 
had  made  clear  that  the  men  representing  the  company  at  a  distance 
must  be  equally  cautious,  of  equally  sound  judgment.  This  con- 
sideration naturally  would  have  come  first  into  the  minds  of  the 
directors,  as  a  basis,  so  to  speak,  for  the  elaborate  agency  system 
that  was  to  be  perfected  in  time. 

[88] 


GEORGE    L.   CHASE 

PRESIDENT 
1867-1908 


Further,  this  growth  in  income  well  might  seem  to  imply  that 
a  larger  share  of  business  was  coming  to  a  solid  company.  Most 
of  the  New  York  companies  and  some  others  succumbed  to  that 
New  York  disaster  of  1835.  Thus  with  a  sudden  rise  in  demand, 
there  were  fewer  companies  to  furnish  supply.  To  be  sure  the 
situation  aroused  more  venturesome  men  to  activity  and  new  com- 
panies were  started,  but  by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  them  were 
mutual  companies  and  their  lives  were  to  be  short.  They  were 
moderately  successful  for  a  time,  with  their  low  rates  and  their 
theory  of  community  of  interest,  but  few  of  them  long  survived. 

Again,  the  people  whose  insurance  failed  them  at  the  time  of 
the  New  York  fire  —  not  simply  those  who  lost  property  but  those 
around  the  country  whose  property  had  been  insured  in  the  failing 
companies  —  and  likewise  the  observers  of  this  suffering  were 
represented  in  the  legislatures  of  the  various  states.  It  came  to 
them  forcibly  that  fire  insurance  was  a  subject  for  legislation  —  an 
idea  which  was  to  be  carried  to  extremes  in  later  days. 

The  demand  was  natural  that  policy  contracts  should  mean 
more  and  that  companies  should  have  a  firmer  foundation  than 
had  been  revealed  for  many  of  them.  Massachusetts  began  the 
legislation  in  1837  with  a  statute  requiring  companies  to  have  a 
fund  which  should  make  it  certain  that  their  contracts  should  be 
fulfilled  —  a  step  toward  what  is  now  known  as  the  unearned  pre- 
mium fund.  From  the  New  York  fire,  then,  we  may  date  the 
principle  of  state  supervision,  and  at  the  same  time  we  may  note 
the  first  governmental  recognition  of  the  magnitude  and  impor- 
tance of  the  business. 

The  General  Assembly  of  New  York  State  went  so  far  as  to 
consider  a  proposition  for  taxing  the  companies  in  a  way  which 
seemed  to  President  Terry  and  his  associates  to  be  eminently  unjust. 
Secretary  BoUes  went  over  to  Albany  and  read  a  few  lessons  on 
finance  with  such  excellent  effect  that  in  the  early  part  of  1837  he 
won  formal  commendation  and  $300  in  cash  from  an  appreciative 
board  of  directors. 

Mr.  Bolles's  salary  in  May  was  advanced  to  ^700  for  six  months, 
and  Mr.  Lyman's  to  $300  with  a  seventy-five-dollar  gratuity.  For 
the  last  six  months  of  the  year,  the  president  received  ^250,  Mr. 
BoUes  ^750,  and  Mr.  Lyman  ^375.  At  the  end  of  the  next  six 
months  the  worthy  assistant  secretary's  salary  was  to  go  up  to  $400 
or  to  the  rate  of  ^800  a  year. 

[91  ] 


These  points  as  to  the  company's  activity  and  prosperity  lose 
much  of  their  force  if  we  have  not  knowledge  of  the  relative  con- 
dition of  business  in  general.  Jackson  had  entered  upon  his  second 
term  as  President.  He  had  carried  out  his  resolve  to  put  an  end 
to  the  United  States  Bank,  despite  the  opposition  of  Congress, 
and  the  bank's  ^10,000,000  of  surplus  funds  had  been  taken  from 
its  vaults  in  1833  and  had  been  distributed  among  certain  banks 
designated  in  the  various  states. 

At  this  time,  1837,  there  was  a  financial  panic,  due  some  said  to 
the  annihilation  of  the  bank,  others  said  to  the  fact  that  the  bank 
ever  had  existed  in  a  free  country.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  panic 
was  on.  In  May,  1837,  specie  payment  was  suspended  in  Hartford 
as  in  New  York,  and  there  was  not  to  be  noticeable  recovery  from 
the  panic  for  four  years.  The  more  credit  to  the  Hartford  Fire 
for  the  showing  it  was  making. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  no  dividends  had  been  paid  since 
1829  and  there  were  those  among  the  stockholders,  doubtless,  who 
thought  this  interval  should  not  be  prolonged  unduly.  The  manage- 
ment had  observed  what  had  escaped  the  attention  of  most  of  the 
other  companies  that  it  was  wisest  to  employ  the  surplus  funds  to 
build  up,  and  to  make  doubly  safe  what  had  been  built  up, —  expand- 
ing and  readjusting  —  until  such  time  as  payments  to  stockholders 
could  not  mean  the  slightest  impairment  of  strength  in  an  emergency. 
More  companies  of  that  period  would  have  been  alive  today  had 
they  been  governed  by  such  policy. 

The  board  of  directors  felt  the  criticisms  of  the  more  uneasy 
among  the  stockholders  in  this  time  of  financial  depression  and  in 
June,  1838,  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  whether  any  improve- 
ment could  be  made  in  the  administration  of  the  company's  affairs. 
The  committee  consisted  of  Samuel  H.  Huntington,  who  had  had 
much  experience  in  the  field.  Job  Allyn,  who  was  one  of  the  pro- 
moters of  the  new  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  National  Bank,  and 
Junius  S.  Morgan,  the  eminent  financier.  Their  report  must  have 
been  verbal  and  informal  for  there  is  no  record  of  it.  Two  years 
later  there  was  effort  to  have  the  number  of  directors  increased 
from  nine  to  thirteen,  by  charter  amendment,  but  the  unlucky 
number  was  avoided.  Business  was  being  done  and  being  done 
effectively,  so  that  in  1841  payment  of  dividends  was  resumed. 

The  new  directors  in  this  period  were:  Harvey  Seymour  (1837- 
1838),  Henry  Waterman  (1837-1838),  Ezra  White,  Jr.  (1838-1843), 

[92] 


John  D.  Russ  (1838-1840),  James  Goodwin,  Jr.  (1840-1878), 
John  P.  Brace  (1841-1846)  and  George  C.  Collins  (1841-1842). 
They  took  the  places  of:  Edwin  D.  Morgan  (1837),  Samuel  Williams 
(1837),  George  Putnam  (1840)  and  Junius  S.  Morgan  (1841). 
As  will  be  noticed,  the  Messrs.  Seymour,  who  had  served  previously 
from  1827  to  1835,  Waterman  and  Russ  held  only  short  terms 
during  this  period. 

The  total  premium  income  for  the  decade  1830  to  1840  was 
5939,824.41  or  nearly  four  times  as  much  as  the  total  for  the  pre- 
ceding twenty  years,  dating  back  to  organization.  The  total  for 
the  thirty  years  was  $1,181,121.70.  In  the  next  decade  there  was 
to  be  almost  a  doubling  of  this  total. 

By  1845  the  annual  income  from  premiums  had  swelled  to 
$177,000  as  against  $37,000  ten  years  before,  in  round  numbers. 
Then  followed  another  series  of  heavy  losses,  met  so  bravely  and 
promptly  that  the  effect  was  to  increase  the  company's  business 
in  every  quarter.  Another  great  fire  in  New  York,  July  19,  1845, 
called  for  $69,691.30  from  the  Hartford.  Less  than  a  twelve- 
month later,  June  9,  1846,  St.  John's,  N.  F.,  was  in  flames,  and 
the  payments  made  by  the  company  there  footed  up  $84,014.75. 

Secretary  Holies  barely  had  reached  Boston  on  his  return  from 
St.  John's  when  he  was  notified  of  a  fire  at  Nantucket,  July  14, 
1846,  and  hastened  thither  to  find  that  the  company's  loss  was 
$54,521.65.  As  before,  the  directors  were  courageous,  and  they 
did  not  hesitate  to  put  their  names  upon  the  company's  paper. 
Only  two  years  had  elapsed  when  came  the  Albany  fire  of  August 
17,  1848,  involving  a  loss  of  $57,673.43  to  the  company,  and  then, 
the  following  May  18,  St.  Louis's  first  great  blaze  which  cost  the 
Hartford  $58,676.83. 

The  company's  capital  was  still  but  $150,000  and  here  were 
conflagration  losses  of  $324,577.96  in  four  years,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  ordinary  losses.  But  the  company  did  not  flinch;  indeed, 
it  was  increasing  its  fame  as  a  company  which  paid  and  paid  squarely. 
In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  quote  the  St.  Louis  figures  which 
attested  to  the  people  of  the  West  the  reliability  of  the  "Old  Hart- 
ford" as  it  already  was  called: 

Amount  Amount 

Name  of  Assured.  Description  of  Property.  Claimed.  Paid. 

D.  H.  Soutliwick,  .    .    .    .   China  Store,      $8,500.00     ;j!8,372.50 

Chas.  H.  Peck  &  others,  .    Buildings,      6,000.00        6,000.00 

Willis  L.  Williams,   .    .    .   Office  Furniture  &  Library     1,000.00        1,000.00 

[93] 


Amount 
Claiued. 

800 . 00 
5,000 .  00 

5,000.00 
10,000.00 


Name  of  Assured.  Description  of  Property. 

W.  M.  Shackford,  Trustee,  St.  Louis  Ins.  Co.  Stock, 

B.  Wilson  &  Co.,   ....  Saddlery  Hardware,     .    . 

Wilson  &  Brothers,    .    .    .  Hardware, 

Humphrey  &  Thacher.     .  Groceries 

Wm.  S.  Moore,      ...  Stove  Store 3,000.00 

King  &  Co., Clothing, 5,639.62 

John  S.  Thompson,  .        .  Groceries,      5,000.00 

John  Gass, Music  Store, 1,450.00 

Chas.  G.  Ramsey,  .  Printing  Press 2,000.00 

B.H.Randolph,    ....  Flour,  &c., 1,000.00 

R.  P.  Perry  &  Co.,     .    .    .  Hardware, 5,000.00 

T.&  G.  W.  Hequembourg,  Goods  &  buildings,  .        .  180.00 


Samuel  Staats  Taylor,  . 
Fisher  &  Burnett, 


Furniture  &  Clothing, 
Books,  Stationery,  &c. 


90.71 
97-33 


Amount 

Paid. 

800 . 00 

3,000.00 

5,000.00 

10,000.00 

3,000.00 

4,950.00 

5,000.00 

1 ,450 .  00 
1,825.00 

1 ,000 .  00 

5,000.00 

157.00 

25.00 
97-33 

In  the  whole  total  there  is  a  difference  of  only  a  trifle  over  ;$3,ooo 
between  the  amounts  originally  claimed  and  the  amounts  paid  by 
the  company  after  adjustments  were  effected. 

Payment  of  dividends,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  had  been 
suspended  in  1846  and  was  not  resumed  till  1853.  But  every  con- 
tract obligation  was  faithfully  discharged. 

Gold  had  been  discovered  in  California,  the  national  territory 
had  been  extended  and  despite  exciting  politics  and  the  clash  of 
arms  in  Texas  and  Mexico,  it  had  been  a  decade  of  prosperity 
throughout  the  land.  The  premium  income  had  been  $2,172,902.16, 
an  increase  of  $1,233,078  or  131  per  cent,  the  largest  per  cent  of 
any  decade  down  to  the  present  with  one  exception.  Deducting 
unpaid  losses  and  claims,  the  net  assets  in  1850  cleared  up  $158,- 
441.58,  including  about  $87,000  in  stock  notes. 


94 


XIV 

FIRST    HALF    CENTURY— WAR    TIMES— LEE'S 
AND  LINCOLN'S  POLICIES 

WITH  this  remarkable  record  for  the  company  which  we 
have  just  reviewed  EUphalet  Terry  sent  to  the  stock- 
holders, at  their  annual  meeting  the  second  Thursday 
of  June,  1849,  ^  letter  declining  re-election  as  director  and  presi- 
dent because  of  the  enfeebled  condition  of  his  health.  Vice  Presi- 
dent Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  presided  at  the  meeting.  The  loss 
was  keenly  felt  and  the  following  preamble  and  resolution  were 
adopted : 

Whereas,  Eliphalet  Terry,  Esq.,  president  of  this  Company,  has  inti- 
mated his  desire  to  withdraw  from  the  duties  of  office  on  account  of  his 
imperfect  health ; 

Resolved,  that  this  meeting  are  deeply  sensible  of  the  able  and  faithful 
manner  in  which,  through  a  long  course  of  years,  he  has  attended  to  the 
interests  which  were  committed  to  his  charge  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors  and  president  of  this  company;  and  that  he  will  carry  with  him 
in  his  retirement  the  affectionate  remembrance  of  his  former  associates,  and 
their  best  wishes  for  his  future  health  and  happiness. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  were  then  chosen  directors 
for  the  ensuing  year:  Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  Albert  Day, 
Junius  S.  Morgan,  James  Goodwin,  Jr.,  Charles  Boswell,  Henry 
Keney,  Calvin  Day,  David  F.  Robinson  and  Job  Allyn.  The  new 
names  here  since  our  last  previous  listing  are  those  of  Charles  Boswell 
and  Henry  Keney  who  had  been  first  elected  in  1842,  Calvin  Day 
who  had  come  on  the  board  in  1847  and  David  F.  Robinson  and 
Job  Allyn  who  were  elected  this  year.  Mr.  Allyn  had  served  on 
the  board  from  1836  to  1842. 

William  T.  Lee  had  been  a  member  for  the  year  1846-7  and 
Daniel  Buck,  Jr.,  for  the  year  just  closed,  1848-9.  The  latter  was 
to  return  to  the  board  for  the  year  185 1-2.  Mr.  Robinson  was  to 
remain  but  two  years.  Charles  J.  Russ  was  to  be  chosen  in  1852 
and  in  that  same  year  John  P.  Brace  was  to  be  chosen  for  the  second 
time.     No  other  changes  were  to  be  made  during  this  decade. 

[95] 


The  directors  elected  Mr.  Huntington  to  succeed  Mr.  Terry 
in  the  presidency.  Mr.  Huntington  was  born  in  Suffield,  Conn., 
on  October  28,  1795.  The  family  removed  to  Hartford  in  1813 
where  Mr.  Huntington's  father  had  his  office  as  United  States  dis- 
trict attorney,  a  position  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  by  President 
Jefferson  in  1806  and  which  he  held  until  1829.  The  younger 
Huntington  took  up  the  publishers'  business  and  later,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  brother,  Frank  J.  Huntington,  published  among  other 
works  a  series  of  Greek  textbooks.  Mr.  Huntington  retired  from 
the  presidency  in  1864  and  died  February  20,  1865. 

In  1850  Charles  Taylor  was  appointed  to  succeed  James  G. 
Bolles  as  secretary.  There  was  a  movement  that  year  to  increase 
the  capital  but  no  formal  action  was  taken  until  1853  when  an 
amendment  to  the  charter  was  secured,  as  we  have  seen,  doubling 
the  capital  of  ^150,000. 

The  company  now  was  more  systematically  establishing  itself 
in  the  South  and  West  and  particularly  in  the  West.  Special  agents 
were  being  employed,  first  to  adjust  losses  at  distant  points,  inci- 
dentally inspecting  risks,  authorizing  rates  and  in  a  general  way 
rendering  assistance  to  the  local  agents.  Demas  Adams  in  18^2 
was  appointed  the  head  of  a  department  with  headquarters  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  to  have  general  supervision  of  the  western  field. 
He  was  succeeded  in  1854  by  David  Alexander.  The  development 
along  this  line  was  at  one  with  the  company's  growth. 

When  the  Civil  War  barred  the  southern  territory,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Western  Department  were  transferred  to  Chicago  — 
after  George  F.  Bissell  had  been  made  general  agent  succeeding 
General  Agent  Alexander.  These  men  so  thoroughly  improved 
the  opportunities  offered  by  the  great  Northwest  that  the  loss  of 
the  southern  business  was  soon  counterbalanced.  We  shall  con- 
sider their  career  further  in  the  section  of  the  company's  story  devoted 
to  the  agency  system. 

All  in  all,  despite  the  troublous  times  and  the  panic  of  1857, 
it  was  a  successful  decade  from  1850  to  i860.  The  company  had 
weathered  severe  gales  and  its  reputation  was  proving  to  be  a  tre- 
mendous asset.  Withal  it  was  attracting  to  itself  men  in  the  field 
as  well  as  at  the  home  office  who  gloried  in  this  reputation  and 
whose  energy,  reliability  and  fidelity  were  setting  a  standard  for 
those  who  should  come  after  them.  With  its  territory  widening 
so  rapidly,  the  company  was  dependent  largely  upon  their  integrity 

[96] 


for  its  name  as  it  was  dependent  upon  their  zeal  for  income  worthy 

of  its  enterprise. 

The  premiums  for  the  decade  amounted  to  $4,1546,534.87,  or 
$2,373,632  more  than  in  the  decade  preceding.  Dividend  pay- 
ments were  resumed  in  1853  but  a  surplus  was  always  maintained 
so  that  the  treasury  should  be  in  shape  to  meet  any  such  emergencies 
as  those  of  the  early  '40's. 

In  looking  back  over  the  first  half  century  we  find  that  the 
average  ratio  of  expense  to  premiums  had  been  kept  down  to  15^. 
Its  ratio  of  loss  in  that  length  of  time  was  raised  from  17  per  cent 
(or  nothing  the  first  year)  to  69  per  cent.  (For  the  last  decade  of 
the  full  century  the  average  has  been  58.)  During  the  first  fifteen 
years  of  the  company's  existence,  the  ratio  of  expense  to  premium 
was  II,  and  a  fair  surplus  was  maintained. 

Bersveen  1854  and  1865,  considerable  increases  in  the  capital 
were  made.  The  amendment  of  1854,  doubling  the  original  capital 
of  $150,000,  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  stockholders;  sub- 
scribers paid  60  per  cent  in  cash  or  by  one-year  notes  with  interest, 
the  balance  in  stock  notes  —  which  notes  soon  disappeared  as 
prosperity  continued.  On  July  14,  1857,  with  an  amendment 
permitting  an  increase  to  $1,000,000,  the  capital  was  raised  to 
$500,000  by  means  of  the  profits  in  the  treasury,  and  then,  in  like 
manner,  to  $1,000,000  in  June,  1864.* 

The  last  years  of  the  first  half  century  were  years  of  heated 
political  debate,  and  the  first  years  of  the  second  half  century  were 
the  years  of  the  Civil  War.  The  business  in  the  South  had  been 
considerable  prior  to  the  war  and  the  settlement  of  claims  through- 
out the  period  of  strife,  when  communication  with  that  section  was 
possible,  were  always  conducted  with  eminent  fairness. 

The  story  of  Charleston  will  serve  to  illustrate  conditions  of 
more  than  passing  interest  in  the  history  of  fire  insurance  and  in 
the  history  of  the  nation.  To  go  back  a  step :  The  great  fire  of 
1838  extended  over  144  acres  and  rendered  a  thousand  Charleston 
people  homeless,  yet  good  came  of  it  since  it  awakened  the  people 
to  the  need  of  fire  insurance  of  the  proper  sort.  The  only  com- 
panies doing  business  in  the  state  were  purely  local,  outsiders  being 
debarred  by  law,  and  they  proved  wholly  unequal  to  the  task  of 


*By  charter  amendment  in  1865  a  capital  of  $3,000,000  was  allowed,  but  there  was  to  be  no 
increase  till  another  slock  dividend  was  declared  in  1877,  this  time  of  $250,000.  The  last  increase 
was  when  the  figures  were  made  an  even  $2,000,000  after  the  San  Francisco  calamity. 

[97] 


indemnifying  the  Charleston  sufferers.  During  the  latter  half  of 
1838  there  were  no  fire  insurance  companies  whatever  operating 
in  the  state  of  South  Carolina. 

One  Charleston  man  was  the  envied  of  all  the  citizens.  He  had 
a  policy  for  $10,000  issued  at  the  home  office  of  the  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  covering  his  stock  of  crockery  ware  in  his 
store  at  the  corner  of  King  and  Wentworth  streets.  His  name  was 
H.  P.  Gleason  and  he  had  lived  in  Hartford  previous  to  establishing 
his  business  in  Charleston.  He  knew  the  worth  of  true  fire  insur- 
ance; so  did  others,  after  that  conflagration. 

The  Legislature  speedily  removed  the  bars  and  the  Hartford 
was  the  first  to  enter  the  field,  Secretary  Bolles  going  there  and 
appointing  Hayden,  Gregg  &  Co.,  jewelers,  as  the  company's  repre- 
sentatives.    Business  came  in  plentifully  up  to  the  time  of  the  war. 

After  April,  1861,  commercial  and  financial  intercourse  between 
the  North  and  the  South  was  terminated,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses. Fire  insurance  in  particular  was  out  of  the  question.  War 
conditions  were  likely  to  void  policies  in  the  South,  adjustment  of 
claims  would  be  difficult  and  drafts  could  not  be  sent  through  the 
lines.  One  check  of  the  Hartford  that  was  sent  before  the  pro- 
hibition was  complete  was  long  utilized  as  currency  and  when 
finally  redeemed  was  stained,  worn  and  covered  with  endorsements 
—  but  still  good.  The  details  as  to  that  historic  check  are  thus 
given  in  a  letter  from  T.  W.  Ventulett  of  Albany,  Ga. : 

One  of  the  most  unique  incidents  of  the  many  that  grew  out  of  the 
compHcations  involved  in  the  derangements  caused  by  the  late  Civil  War, 
was  the  history  of  a  check  sent  by  the  'Great  and  Good  Hartford  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company'  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  to  cover  a  loss  in  the  city  of  Albany,  Ga. 
James  L.-Byington  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  hotel  in  that  center  of  cul- 
ture, refinement  and  wealth,  placed  a  risk  on  his  property  with  Captain  John 
A.  Davis,  the  agent  of  the  Hartford  in  Albany,  Ga.,  in  the  year  of  i86o 
for  ;^8oo.  The  property  was  burned  and  the  proof  of  loss  was  made  out 
and  hurried  to  the  home  office  just  before  hostilities  began.  The  check  to 
cover  the  loss,  duly  signed  by  the  officers  of  the  company,  came  through  in 
the  last  mail  before  communications  were  interrupted  between  the  North 
and  South,  and  was  promptly  delivered  to  the  assured. 

Mr.  Byington  found  it  impossible  to  get  the  check  cashed,  as  it  would 
not  be  safely  sent  through  for  returns,  and  as  it  represented  a  large  part  of 
his  means,  he  resorted  to  trading,  using  the  check  as  collateral,  securing 
loans  on  it.  So  often  was  it  hypothecated  that  it  was  recognized  as  a  legal 
tender  among  the  moneyed  men  of  the  community.     Its  value,  being  payable 

[98]      . 


CHARLES    E.    CHASE 


P  R  E  S  1  D  K  N  T 


in  gold,  rapidly  increased  with  the  waning  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. 
It  proved  an  asset  of  great  value  to  him  on  which  he  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  competency.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  check  was  forwarded  for  collec- 
tion and  paid  very  promptly.  This  incident  was  frequently  referred  to  by 
Captain  Davis,  who  was  agent  for  the  Hartford  for  about  fifty  years. 

December  13,  1861,  Charleston  was  visited  again  by  fire.  The 
cathedral,  market  and  the  buildings  on  Hayne,  King  and  Meeting 
streets  were  among  those  destroyed.  Some  of  this  property  was 
covered  by  policies  in  the  Hartford  and  as  soon  as  the  declaration 
of  peace  would  admit,  the  claims  were  paid  in  full. 

An  incident  in  connection  with  these  policies,  related  by  Agent 
A.  H.  Hayden,  is  of  historic  value.  Mr.  Hayden  had  told  the 
anxious  policyholders  that  there  was  no  use  in  sending  their  claims 
to  Hartford.  "Make  out  your  proofs  of  loss,"  said  he;  "I  will 
take  care  of  them  and  you  will  get  your  money."  Under  the  con- 
ditions, it  must  have  been  hard  for  the  southerners  to  believe  this, 
but  such  was  their  faith  in  the  "Old  Hartford,"  when  all  other 
faith  in  the  North  had  been  abandoned,  that  they  gave  the  papers 
to  Mr.  Hayden. 

Putting  them  with  his  own  private  papers,  Mr.  Hayden  carried 
them  into  the  country.  He  consulted  with  a  kindly  planter 
as  to  the  best  means  of  preserving  the  proofs  upon  the  safety  of 
which  his  own  honor  as  well  as  that  of  the  company  depended. 
The  planter,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  took  the  papers  along  with 
other  valuables  out  into  a  large  field  and,  placing  all  in  a  keg,  buried 
them.  The  next  day  the  negroes  plowed  the  field,  thus  obliterating 
all  traces  of  the  hiding  place  which  was  indicated  only  by  marks 
on  trees  in  a  neighboring  field. 

There  the  documents  remained  until  the  end  of  the  war  when 
they  were  dug  up  and  sent  to  Hartford  where  they  were  promptly 
honored  and  the  claimants  received  in  full  the  amounts  to  which 
they  could  have  urged  no  legal  claim.  Mr.  Hayden  continued  as 
agent  for  many  years. 

Just  before  the  war  General  Robert  E.  Lee  carried  ;$5,8oo 
insurance  on  the  famous  Arlington  property,  across  the  river  from 
Washington.  The  rate  was  40  cents  per  $100  a  year  for  the  house 
and  80  cents  for  the  barn.  The  policy  was  written  October  17, 
1859,  and  the  following  is  General  Lee's  endorsed  description  of 
the  historic  premises,  as  it  appears  over  his  signature  in  the  appli- 
cation carefully  preserved  at  the  home  office : 


APPLICATION    OF  ROBERT  E.  LEE 


iJQitfori)  live  3usuianr«v'(!LompanD,  of  Ifjaitforti.  Olonn. 


iij  'li-criflionslmtil.t  bP  givfiic'  till.-  l!ijililinsc!.iilulom4tlinrir<jpVrt>-.  usji  liisunift'^v  i>  KiiiiWon  tiii-'H'ii'lii>^. 


:,^4-^ay; 


vlp|)iicoliou' ill 

IV.,  liiM.iiuu'e,  oi.'»">i  I'ss  or  uAinage  liy  lir,.  Ly  -.l.c  HAETTORD  FIRE  INSTOANCE  COMPANY,  ,„  ,i„_ 
snin  ?f-;^^;/^-^  '^<£a-i-<M<^-^  <0;Sii4!5%<-»<  «<^«:^;<L--DolUrs  om  ihi'  |M>,|„.((y  spfc-iriml  ■  il,i  vahio  of  ll.. 
jtroijeily  liciiig  osuniuicil  by  Llie  Appiioant. 


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lor  Ubing  tire  projierlj  seen-  ,t,' 

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yv' 


At  that  time,  threats  were  loud  and  bitter  and  yet  we  can  see 
by  this  bit  of  precious  evidence  that  the  peril  was  not  so  great,  in 
the  minds  of  the  Hartford  men,  that  this  could  be  considered  an 
especially  hazardous  risk.  Nor  did"  it  prove  to  be,  though  there 
were  times  during  the  next  few  years  when  the  property  was  in  great 
danger. 

Side  by  side  with  this  policy  of  General  Lee's  is  "No.  253" 
(Western  Department)  on  the  property  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
Springfield,  111.  It  is  dated  February  8,  1861,  less  than  two  months 
after  South  Carolina  had  passed  the  "ordinance  of  secession"  and 
a  few  days  after  six  other  states  had  followed  South  Carolina's  lead. 
Lincoln  was  at  home  anxiously  watching  the  course  of  events  and 
thoughtfully  preparing  that  inaugural  address  to  be  delivered  the 
next  month  and  to  go  down  in  history  as  one  of  the  most  important 
ever  written  by  a  President  of  the  United  States.  Removing  his 
family  to  Washington,  he  had  decided  to  rent  his  house,  as  evidenced 
by  the  policy,  and  to  protect  himself  against  loss  of  it.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  property  in  the  document  preserved  is  meager.  With 
a  charge  of  $24,  the  amount  of  the  insurance  is  $3,200.  Of  this 
$3,000  is  on  the  two-story  "frame  house  to  rent,"  $75  on  the  carriage 
house  and  $125  on  a  frame  wood  house  and  outhouse. 


[  103  ] 


XV 

PRESIDENT  GEORGE   L.  CHASE— THE  GREAT 
CONFLAGRATIONS 

ON  the  retirement  of  President  Huntington  in  1864,  Timothy 
C.  Allyn  was  elected  president.  He  was  the  son  of  Job 
Allyn,  one  of  the  founders  and  original  directors,  and  had 
been  secretary  from  August  5,  1858,  to  the  time  of  his  election, 
June  2,  1864.  He  had  succeeded  Caleb  B.  Bowers  as  secretary, 
the  latter  having  served  since  1853.  In  the  six  months  between  the 
date  of  Secretary  Taylor's  retirement  in  1852  and  the  beginning 
of  Secretary  Bowers's  term,  A.  F.  Wilmarth  had  served.  He  later 
was  vice  president  of  the  Home  Insurance  Company  of  New  York 
and  Mr.  Bowers  became  president  of  the  City  Insurance  Company 
and  of  the  Putnam  Insurance  Company,  both  of  Hartford. 

A  large  fire  at  Augusta,  Me.,  on  September  16,  1865,  inaugurated 
another  series  of  heavy  losses,  almost  within  a  year's  time.  The 
company's  loss  in  Augusta  was  ^57,022.16.  On  July  4,  1866,  the 
great  fire  in  Portland,  Me.,  called  for  $151,288.31,  and  the  following 
Christmas  Eve  there  was  a  loss  of  $555077.55  by  the  fire  in  Vicks- 
burg,  Miss.,  making  a  total  of  $263,388.02.  Yet  so  well  was  the 
company  prepared  this  time  that  it  settled  every  claim  readily  and 
was  able  to  add  over  $200,000  to  its  assets  from  the  business  in 
1866.  Its  premium  income  between  i860  and  1870  showed  a  gain 
of  $6,493,845.90,  with  a  total  of  $11,040,380.77.  This  was  a  gain 
of  143  per  cent. 

President  Allyn,  after  an  incumbency  of  only  three  years,  resigned 
and  going  to  New  York  formed  a  partnership  there  with  Ezra  White, 
the  company's  local  agent.  The  firm  also  had  charge  of  the  Ameri- 
can branch  of  the  North  British  and  Mercantile  Insurance  Com- 
pany. 

For  the  first  time  then,  with  a  company  of  nation-wide  interests, 
the  directors  went  beyond  the  borders  of  the  city  and  the  state  for 
their  executive  head.  George  Lewis  Chase  had  attracted  attention 
by  the  record  he  had  established,  particularly  through  the  preceding 
four  years  as  assistant  general  agent  in  the  Western  Department. 

[  104  ] 


His  services  there  had  so  warmly  commended  him  to  General  Agent 
George  F.  Bissell  that,  when  he  was  consulted,  Mr.  Bissell  earnestly 
proposed  him  for  the  presidency,  to  which  office  he  was  elected 
June  6,  1867. 

In  his  administration  of  forty-one  years  —  an  administration 
continuing  until  his  death  and  longer  than  that  of  any  othtr  fire 
insurance  president  in  the  United  States  —  the  Hartford  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company  was  to  enjoy  a  marvelous  development,  to  attain 
foremost  rank  among  institutions  of  its  kind  and  to  make  its  name 
stand  for  all  that  was  solid  and  enduring.  The  foundations  well 
laid,  Mr.  Chase  was  the  master  builder  to  go  on  with  the  great 
structure.  A  trained  underwriter  from  his  early  youth,  he  was 
familiar  with  every  detail  in  the  field.  As  president,  he  not  only 
directed,  but  he  originated  ideas,  methods  and  facilities  in  the  various 
branches  of  the  business,  and  worked  with  the  tireless  energy  which 
characterized  him  in  everything  in  which  he  took  an  interest^ — 
an  inspiration  to  other  minds  and  a  constant  example  in  making 
every  minute  count.  He  chose  men  with  unerring  judgment  and 
knew  how  to  bring  out  the  best  that  was  within  them  for  the  com- 
pany. He  was  bold  yet  conservative,  and  by  courage,  skill  and  zeal 
in  proper  proportions  carried  great  undertakings  through  to  success. 

Mr.  Chase  was  born  in  Millbury,  Worcester  County,  Mass., 
January  13,  1828,  the  son  of  Paul  Cushing  Chase.  His  first  Ameri- 
can ancestor  was  Aquilla  Chase,  a  native  of  Cornwall,  England, 
who  settled  in  Hampton,  Mass.,  in  1640.  The  moment  Mr.  Chase 
was  through  with  his  studies  in  Millbury  Academy,  he  entered  upon 
his  career  as  an  underwriter.  He  was  then  only  19  years  old.  His 
initial  experience  was  as  local  agent  in  Millbury  for  the  Farmers' 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Georgetown,  Mass.  In  a 
short  time  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  and 
as  canvasser  was  assigned  to  the  territory  of  southern  Massachusetts 
and  eastern  Connecticut.  Before  long  four  companies  doing  busi- 
ness on  the  mutual  plan  were  represented  by  his  agency;  one  of 
them,  the  Holyoke  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Holyoke, 
Mass.,  is  still  flourishing  today. 

Mr.  Chase's  first  year  won  him  such  prestige  that  he  was  offered 
the  responsible  position  of  traveling  agent  for  the  People's  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Worcester,  Mass.  He  remained  with  that  com- 
pany from  1848  to  1852.  In  the  latter  year,  having  accepted  appoint- 
ment   as    assistant    superintendent   of  the    Central    Ohio    Railway 

[  >05  ] 


Company,  he  turned  aside  from  insurance  and  went  West  for  his 
new  work.  There  again  his  abihty,  forcefulness  and  faculty  for 
organizing  won  him  advancement  and  he  soon  was  promoted  to 
be  general  superintendent.  He  was  among  those  who  formed  the 
first  Association  of  Railroad  Superintendents,  at  a  meeting  held 
in  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  1853. 

But  fire  insurance  was  his  calling  and  to  it  he  returned  in  i860 
when  .he  accepted  the  western  agency  of  the  New  England  Fire 
and  Marine  Insurance  Company  of  Hartford.  It  was  while  he 
was  acting  in  this  capacity  that  General  Agent  Bissell  of  the  Western 
Department  of  the  Hartford  Fire  recognized  his  worth  and  he  was 
secured  for  assistant  general  agent  at  Chicago.  From  this  position 
to  the  presidency  was  a  promotion  which  could  have  been  won 
only  by  the  most  noteworthy  merit. 

On  December  31,  1867,  follovv'ing  Mr.  Chase's  election  to  the 
presidency,  the  company's  net  surplus  was  ^26,744.  Its  assets 
were  ;$2,026,220.  Its  capital  was  $1,000,000,  reinsurance  reserve 
;^83i,975  and  total  liabilities  $1,999,476.  The  year's  total  income 
was  $1,673,582  of  which  $1,559,040  was  from  premiums. 

The  year  of  Mr.  Chase's  death,  the  net  surplus  was  $5,061,592. 
The  capital  was  $2,000,000,  reinsurance  reserve  $12,022,474  and 
total  liabilities  $13,373,224.  The  year's  total  income  was  $14,810,- 
581  of  which  $14,071,456  was  from  premiums. 

Mr.  Chase  was  elected  president  of  the  National  Board  of  Fire 
Underwriters  in  1876  and  from  then  to  the  time  of  his  death  served 
as  chairman  of  the  important  committee  on  legislation  and  taxation. 
He  also  was  connected  with  several  of  Hartford's  leading  financial 
institutions,  being  trustee  and  vice  president  of  the  Society  for 
Savings,  trustee  of  the  Connecticut  Trust  and  Safe  Deposit  Com- 
pany, director  in  the  American  National  Bank  and  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trade.  In  planning  the  office  building  two  years 
after  he  was  elected  he  played  a  particularly  active  part.  He  was 
the  first  to  introduce  the  use  of  the  telephone  in  local  business  offices 
and  the  first  to  employ  stenographers  and  typewriters.  The  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  by  his  co-workers  was  evidenced  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  his  becoming  president,  in  1892,  when  he  was 
given  a  silver  loving  cup,  and  again  in  1898,  when  he  had  arrived 
at  the  age  of  70,  by  the  gift  from  the  general  and  special  agents  of 
a  Jurgensen  watch.  He  died  January  7,  1908,  six  days  before  his 
eightieth  anniversary. 

[  106  ] 


True  to  the  character  and  principles  of  the  company  long  since 
established,  President  Chase  was  pushing  the  agency  work  vigor- 
ously and  improving  to  the  utmost  the  advantage  the  company 
possessed  of  being  able  to  secure  good  men,  when  came  the  great 
test  of  the  Chicago  fire.  Well  was  it  then  that  the  company's 
builders  had  laid  firm  foundations  and  that  the  prestige  was  un- 
shakable. On  that  night  of  October  8  and  the  day  of  the  9th,  1871, 
property  to  the  amount  of  ^150,000,000  was  swept  out  of  existence 
by  the  flames.  As  in  1835  in  New  York  and  as  on  subsequent 
occasions  of  great  calamity,  there  was  no  hesitation  although  the 
disaster  seemed  almost  beyond  the  power  of  finite  comprehension. 

The  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  did  not  flinch.  With 
early  knowledge  that  its  losses  were  almost  double  the  amount  of 
its  capital  and  with  the  news  that  a  large  number  of  the  other  com- 
panies (ultimately  forty-five)  were  forced  to  the  wall,  the  Hartford 
immediately  gave  printed  notice  to  its  agents  that  its  losses  would 
be  "approximately  one  and  three-fourths  millions  of  dollars"  but 
that  "vast  as  is  this  sum,  it  will  be  bravely  met  and  honorably  paid." 
The  actual  losses  exceeded  the  estimate  and  within  four  months, 
mostly  within  ninety  days,  the  company  had  paid  claims  amounting 
to  $1,933,562.04.  And  it  paid  them  without  a  single  instance  of 
litigation,  true  to  the  standard  of  1835,  to  the  standard  we  might 
say  of  1 8 10  or  from  the  very  beginning. 

Eager  outsiders  who  looked  to  see  the  company  sacrifice  some 
of  its  splendid  securities  were  disappointed.  The  Hartford  Bank 
was  ready  with  all  the  assistance  within  its  power  and  the  Connecti- 
cut Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  granted  a  large  loan.  The 
claims  paid,  there  was  only  a  little  over  a  million  dollars  remaining 
in  the  treasury,  less  than  was  called  for  in  the  reinsurance  fund. 
The  directors  were  undaunted.  The  capital  was  cut  in  half 
and  immediately  was  restored  to  $1,000,000  by  fresh  subscrip- 
tions. Rights  of  stockholders  to  subscribe  commanded  a  premium 
of  $85  a  share,  attest  of  the  faith  in  the  company's  recuperative 
power. 

And  while  men  of  courage  and  indomitable  will  in  the  home 
oflRce  city  were  mastering  the  unprecedented  evil,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  President  Chase,  men  no  less  courageous  and  indefatigable 
were  upholding  the  company's  standard  in  the  afllicted  city.  His- 
tory would  be  incomplete  without  a  word  for  them.  The  horror 
of  those  days  of  the  fire  and  the  weeks  that  followed  it  is  diflicult 

[  107  J 


to  picture.  The  Chicago  Evening  Journal  at  i  o'clock  the  after- 
noon of  October  g  issued  a  single-sheet  extra  from  a  job  press, 
announcing:  "Chicago  is  burning!  Up  to  this  hour  of  writing 
the  best  part  of  the  city  is  already  in  ashes!  An  area  between  six 
and  seven  miles  in  length  and  nearly  a  mile  in  width,  embracing 
the  great  business  part  of  the  city,  has  been  burned  over  and  now 
lies  a  mass  of  smoldering  ruins!"  The  leading  hotels,  public  build- 
ings, banks,  newspaper  offices,  places  of  amusement,  business 
blocks  and  most  of  the  railroad  stations  and  churches  were  gone. 
The  gas  works  were  destroyed  and  what  added  mightily  to  the 
woe  was  the  loss  of  the  city  water  works,  rendering  the  fire  apparatus 
useless. 

The  loss  at  that  hour  was  estimated  at  "hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars."  The  fire  had  been  started  at  9  o'clock  the  night  before 
(Sunday)  when  a  cow  had  kicked  over  a  lamp  in  a  stable,  and  it 
was  to  burn  the  better  part  of  another  day.  The  Journal  said : 
"Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  such  a  scene  of  extended, 
terrible  and  complete  destruction  by  conflagration  been  recorded ; 
and  never  has  a  more  frightful  scene  of  panic,  distress  and  horror 
been  witnessed  among  a  helpless,  sorrowing,  suffering  population." 
Telegrams  summoned  aid  from  St.  Louis,  Cleveland,  Milwaukee 
and  nearer  cities. 

General  Agent  George  F.  Bissell  of  the  Western  Department 
was  the  first  fire  insurance  manager  to  open  an  office  in  the  city 
after  the  fire.  A  man  held  in  highest  esteem  throughout  the  com- 
munity, whose  word  was  as  good  as  a  bond,  his  calm  assurance 
in  the  hour  of  anguish  and  terror  was  solace  incalculable.  He 
set  about  adjusting  and  settling  losses  with  a  promptness  that  made 
the  first  rift  in  the  cloud  of  despair  which  had  settled  over  homeless 
people.     With  his  assistants  he  was  at  work  day  and  night. 

In  an  appreciative  article  in  one  of  the  leading  insurance  maga- 
zines at  the  time  of  his  death  was  this  paragraph:  "The  final  test 
of  his  endurance  and  capacity  came  when  his  company  lost  two 
million  dollars  in  two  days  in  the  Chicago  fire.  One  of  the  first 
buildings  to  spring  out  of  the  ashes  was  the  one  he  erected  for  his 
office  on  LaSalle  street.  The  losses  were  adjusted  correctly  and 
promptly  and  paid  within  the  regular  time  limit  —  the  best  piece 
of  insurance  adjustment  and  payment  ever  executed  in  this  country. 
He  flung  his  Hartford  flag  to  the  breeze,  with  not  a  spot  nor  stain 
from  the  flames  upon  it." 

[  108  ] 


RICHARD    M.    BISSELL 

VICE     PRESIDENT 
UNDEKWRITING    MANAGER 


In  the  rush  of  new  business  coming  in  for  his  compiiny,  Mr. 
Bissell  no  doubt  found  a  large  part  of  his  reward  for  his  superhuman 
efforts  in  the  days  immediately  following  the  conflagration. 

Less  than  a  year  later,  November  9,  1872,  the  Boston  fire  began 
and  burned  for  thirty-six  hours,  destroying  $80,000,000  worth  of 
property,  which  meant  among  other  things  the  collapse  of  twenty- 
six  more  fire  insurance  companies.  But  the  Hartford  was  staunch 
— fire-tested.  It  met  its  losses  of  $485,315.71  out  of  its  current 
receipts  and  again  found  its  new  business  enormously  increased. 
Writing  of  the  company's  record  on  this  occasion  and  voicing  the 
sentiments  of  a  grateful  community,  the  Boston  Journal  said:  "All 
adjusted  claims  were  paid  at  sight,  without  discount  or  delay.  Such 
a  record  is  its  own  argument  for  integrity,  ability  and  determina- 
tion." And  then  the  paper  summed  up  the  whole  matter,  for  Boston 
or  any  other  city,  with  this:  "A  policy  in  the  Hartford  Fire  is  as 
good  as  a  gold  bond." 

The  Baltimore  fire  of  February  7,  1904,  was  another  of  the 
greatest  conflagrations  of  modern  times,  emphasizing  anew  the 
lessons  that  had  been  taught  in  fire  insurance,  entailing  work  upon 
agents  and  adjusters  which  those  at  a  distance  scarcely  can  realize 
and  yet  adding  to  the  prestige  of  a  company  like  the  Hartford. 
Its  losses  were  $1,213,843,  and  it  is  superfluous  to  say  that  they 
were  paid  promptly. 

And  the  Baltimore  fire  was  only  one  of  what  were,  each  in 
themselves,  serious  disasters  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth 
century.  The  company's  loss  by  the  fire  in  Ottawa,  Ont.,  April 
26,  1900,  had  been  $177,785.  The  Jacksonville  fire  of  May  3, 
1901,  was  the  most  serious  up  to  that  time  since  the  Boston  fire 
and  the  company's  loss  by  it  ($215,900)  had  been  nearly  half  as 
great  as  that  in  Boston.  Then  had  followed  the  Paterson  (N.  J.) 
fire  of  February  9,  1902,  with  losses  of  $106,643  t°  ^^^  company; 
and  the  year  of  the  Baltimore  fire,  the  company  had  to  pay  claims 
amounting  to  $160,952  in  Toronto,  Ont.,  for  the  fire  of  April    19 

(1904)- 

Even  for  those  inured  by  such  misfortunes  as  these,  the  earth- 
quake and  fire  in  San  Francisco,  in  mid-April,  1906,  was  a  blow 
at  first  incomprehensible.  What  with  great  buildings  thrown 
down,  tracks  torn  up  and  streets  and  water  pipes  disrupted  by  the 
earthquake,  and  the  whole  wide  mass  swept  by  roaring  flames, 
what  with  the  distracted  inhabitants  driven  out  of  one  place  of 

[in  ] 


refuge  after  another  and  many  of  them  to  subsist  for  weeks  in  mili- 
tary camps  on  the  charity  of  the  world,  the  scenes  never  can  be 
realized  by  any  who  did  not  witness  them.  In  insurance  offices 
the  world  over  the  news  was  appalling  since  for  many  years  San 
Francisco  had  proved  a  fertile  field  for  them.  The  total  losses 
were  put  at  $350,000,000,  one  half  of  which  fell  upon  the  insurance 
companies.  How  much  of  the  loss  was  due  to  earthquake  and 
how  much  to  fire  was  a  question  long  discussed  by  certain  of  the 
companies  in  their  efforts  to  save  themselves  from  what  to  not  a 
few  was  the  inevitable  doom.  Newspapers  flamed  with  wrath 
and  the  general  desperation  and  hopelessness  were  revealed  in  a 
great  public  clamor. 

But  can  there  be  any  question  about  the  course  the  Hartford 
was  pursuing  ?  Heroic  is  the  only  word  that  describes  it  and  yet 
the  management  deems  that  word  not  fitting,  so  much  a  matter 
of  course  does  it  consider  the  discharge  of  duty. 

Palache  &  Hewitt  were  general  agents  in  charge  of  the  Pacific 
Department  at  the  time.  As  soon  as  the  ruins  had  cooled,  imminent 
peril  from  shattered  buildings  had  been  somewhat  lessened  and 
the  federal  soldiers  had  begun  to  enforce  order,  the  insurance  men 
were  at  work,  first  with  a  study  of  the  problem  as  a  whole,  separately 
and  together,  and  then  in  long  and  painful  detail.  The  Hartford's 
general  agency  offices  were  established  at  Oakland. 

P.  J.  Hobbs,  chief  adjuster,  who  was  detailed  to  take  general 
charge  of  the  work  of  adjustment  and  payment  of  losses,  which 
already  had  been  in  progress  for  a  month  or  more,  has  written  a 
graphic  account  of  the  experiences  of  the  agents  and  adjusters. 
It  is  a  story  of  human  triumph  which  deserves  to  be  handed  down 
in  history.  He  tells  how  he  reached  San  Francisco  at  midnight, 
Sunday,  June  17.  All  the  insurance  offices,  with  their  records, 
had  been  destroyed.  Early  Monday  morning  rude  headquarters 
were  established  in  the  burned  district  and  the  crowd  of  claimants 
made  their  appearance  as  soon  as  the  doors  were  open, —  a  crowd 
which  was  not  to  grow  less  for  many  days  thereafter. 

The  great  question  was  how  to  care  for  each  one.  In  all  there 
was  an  army  of  10,000,  including  claimants,  wives  and  attorneys, 
who  must  be  seen.  Imagine  how  long  it  would  take  them  to  pass 
a  given  point  if  marching  in  lines  extending  from  curb  to  curb  — 
and  "then  remember  that  we  must  meet  each  one  of  them,"  writes 
Mr.  Hobbs,  "and  adjust  each  loss  upon  its  individual  merit."     In 


[  112] 


all  6,o«o  policies  had  been  presented  and  3,000  proofs  of  loss.  The 
proofs  in  particular  must  receive  prompt  attention.  When  one 
was  filed,  the  person  filing  it  was  told  that  he  would  receive  a  letter 
as  soon  as  the  new  office  could  be  arranged  systematically.  The 
letter,  which  was  registered,  set  a  definite  date  for  adjustment  and 
also  contained  the  assurance  that  the  appointment  would  be  kept. 
In  this  way  order  was  brought  out  of  chaos. 

All  loss  claims  were  classified.  In  the  first  class  were  the  claims 
where  the  company  was  alone;  in  the  second  class,  where  the  com- 
pany was  with  not  more  than  five  other  companies,  and  the  third, 
where  there  were  six  other  companies  or  more  —  which  last  named 
class  was  reserved  for  committee  adjustment.     Mr.  Hobbs  says : 

"We  had  not  only  a  larger  amount  of  loss  than  any  other  com- 
pany but  we  had  greatly  the  largest  number  of  losses  where  we 
alone  were  interested." 

Two  automobiles  and  three  expert  builders  were  employed  to 
expedite  the  work  of  adjusting.  First  attention  was  given  to  the 
first  class  as  representing  the  most  needy.  By  July  i  they  had 
begun  to  care  for  two  claimants  every  five  minutes,  on  an  average. 
The  fact  soon  was  given  out  that  they  were  adjusting  fifty  or  sixty 
claims  a  day.  Arrangement  was  made  with  nearby  banks  to  pay 
all  drafts  and  ere  long  sixty  or  eighty  drafts  a  day  were  being  passed 
over  the  counter.  "Our  'machine'  was  the  greatest  and  the  best 
that  any  company  had  ever  supplied,"  says  Mr.  Hobbs.  "The 
adjusters  were  artists  and  all  were  tireless  workers.  A  record  was 
made  in  the  rapid  execution  of  the  work  that  certainly  never  has 
been  equalled." 

There  was  wrangling  among  certain  of  the  companies  in  trying 
to  arrange  a  uniform  basis  of  settlement.  Some  favored  payment 
of  loss  by  attempting  to  take  an  arbitrary  percentage  off^  from  each 
adjusted  claim.  Mr.  Hobbs  says:  "We  found  it  unsafe  to  accept 
such  companies'  adjustments,  and  would  always  insist  upon  our 
own  adjusters  taking  part  in  the  adjustment."  The  press  was 
bitterly  hostile  from  the  outset  and  there  were  calamity  howlers 
on  every  hand.     Attempts  to  defraud  were  many  and  varied. 

Within  sixty  days  after  the  headquarters  had  been  established, 
six  and  a  half  million  dollars  had  been  paid  out  and  on  August  21 
the  adjusters  except  Purcell,  King  and  Warfield  left.  Of  the  560 
claims  still  unsettled,  400  were  for  committee  adjustment. 

So  far  as  the  Hartford  was  concerned  the  tone  of  the  press  had 

[113]  ■ 


changed  completely.  The  San  Francisco  Chronicle  in  its  issue 
of  September  25  said:  "The  Hartford  Fire  is  one  of  the  companies 
spoken  of  very  highly  in  the  matter  of  adjustments.  It  had  such 
a  strong  force  of  capable  men  to  handle  claims  that  although  its 
losses  were  larger  than  those  of  any  other  company,  it  disposed 
of  its  obligations  promptly."  General  Agent  Palache  commented 
thus  on  this  utterance:  "It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  was  purely 
voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  paper." 

Mr.  Hobbs  in  his  paper  adds  something  of  special  interest  as 
coming  from  a  man  on  the  firing-line:  "The  Hartford  in  its  history 
has  been  an  exponent  of  honesty,  always  sincere,  straightforward 
and  truthful,  and  the  exponent  of  integrity  in  the  equitable  fulfill- 
ment of  its  contract  obligations.  This  position  has  been  main- 
tained in  its  selection  of  men  endowed  with  the  same  characteristics 
and  educated  in  its  own  school.  *  *  *  I  believe  a  great  lesson  of 
conflagration  adjustments  is  learned  by  studying  the  Hartford 
methods. —  We  awaken  in  others  the  same  attitude  of  mind  we 
hold  toward  them.  *  *  *  The  Hartford's  record  at  San  Francisco 
will  add  brilliancy  to  its  history  and  the  milestones  already  passed  — 
New  York,  Chicago,  Boston,  Portland  and  Baltimore." 

J.  J.  Purcell  also  has  written  a  paper  that  is  illuminating.  He 
cites  many  illustrations  of  the  value  of  the  co-insurance  clause  and 
says:  "I  wish  to  say  to  you  producers  of  the  business  that  the  San 
Francisco  disaster  developed  the  true  metal  of  every  fire  insurance 
company,  and  that  of  the  company  you  represent  proved  pure  gold." 

The  Hartford's  losses  footed  up  ;^7,oi  1,636.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  fire  would  leave  the  company  without  one  dollar 
of  capital  or  surplus,  the  directors  promptly  voted  to  recommend 
that  the  capital  be  raised  at  once  from  ^1,250,000  to  fc,ooo,ooo 
by  issuing  ^750,000  new  stock  at  a  premium  of  %oo  a  share.  The 
recommendation  was  adopted,  the  additional  stock  was  taken  up 
and  every  obligation  was  discharged  faithfully  and  in  good  season. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  most  of  the  new  issue  was  subscribed 
for  by  the  stockholders  of  record,  strong  evidence  of  their  recogni- 
tion of  the  great  value  of  the  agency  plant. 

At  this  time  of  trial,  despite  the  financial  condition  of  the  Hart- 
ford, not  an  agent  had  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  ability  of  the  com- 
pany to  maintain  its  position,  and  their  loyalty  to  the  company 
was  demonstrated  by  the  renewal  of  old  business  and  also  by  a 
large  increase  in  premium  income. 

[  114  ] 


1 


One  word  in  emphasis  of  a  point  in  connection  with  these  widely 
distributed  catastrophes :  Long-time  immunity  of  a  state,  a  city 
or  an  individual  cannot  be  taken  as  a  reason  for  reducing  rates  in 
such  cases.  If  it  were  not  for  those  who  do  not  suffer  loss,  the 
average  rate  would  have  to  be  much  higher.  That  average  now, 
for  all  classes,  is  only  a  little  over  i  per  cent.  Thus  property  insured 
at  that  rate  might  not  call  for  a  cent  of  indemnity  and  yet,  burning 
in  its  one  hundredth  year,  would  cost  all  that  had  been  paid  in 
premiums  and  the  companies  also  would  be  minus  its  proportionate 
share  of  the  century's  expenses.  Fire  insurance  distributes  the 
burden  entailed  by  fire  loss. 

What  is  true  of  persons  is  true  of  communities.  Immuiiity 
cannot  be  eternal.  For  thirty-five  years  previous  to  the  Chicago 
fire,  the  Hartford's  business  in  Illinois  had  contributed  well  to  the 
fund  in  which  the  other  states,  communities  and  individuals  were 
interested.  For  thirty  years  thereafter  the  company's  business 
in  that  state  was  exceptionally  profitable,  and  yet  it  was  not  until 
about  1900  that  the  balance  for  the  state's  business  was  once  more 
in  favor  of  the  company;  the  Chicago  fire  had  taken  all  the  profit 
from  1837  to  1900.  In  San  Francisco  the  Hartford  alone  paid 
nearly  75  per  cent  of  the  aggregate  of  all  the  annual  premiums  of 
California.  A  large  safety  fund  can  be  maintained  only  by  many  low 
premiums,  kept  low  by  competition  if  by  nothing  else,  and  no  man  or 
community  can  know  when  aid  from  that  fund  will  be  sadly  needed. 

With  a  net  surplus  of  ^3,281,450  and  a  premium  income  of 
i?l4,43i,828,  the  year  1907  brought  fulfillment  of  the  most  sanguine 
prophecies  of  the  Hartford's  friends.  And  yet,  with  all  its  happi- 
ness, the  company  was  to  be  called  upon  to  grieve  deeply  at  the 
end  of  that  year  and  the  beginning  of  the  next.  For  it  was  to  lose 
two  of  its  chief  officials.  Secretary  Philander  C.  Royce  died  sud- 
denly in  New  York  on  December  i  and  President  George  L.  Chase 
followed  him  on  January  7.  The  story  of  Mr.  Chase's  life  already 
has  been  given  and  it  is  written  into  the  company's  history;  the 
salient  points  in  the  career  of  the  secretary  so  much  beloved  by 
men  who  still  are  with  the  company  should  here  be  recorded. 

Mr.  Royce  was  a  native  of  Illinois,  having  been  born  in  Plain- 
field  in  1838.  His  father  and  mother  hailed  from  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts  respectively.  The  father  located  in  what  is  now 
Plainfield,  in  1834,  and  married  the  missionary  teacher  from  New- 
England  three  years  later.     Their  son  was  named  after  the  first 

[  ''Si 


bishop  of  Illinois,  who  baptized  him.  After  graduating  from  Knox 
College  in  i860,  the  young  man  chose  school  teaching  for  his  voca- 
tion and  in  the  course  of  a  short  time  he  was  superintendent  of 
schools  and  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Joliet,  111.  This  was 
rapid  advancement  and  yet  Mr.  Royce  felt  that  the  calling  did  not 
have  in  it  for  him  the  possibilities  he  desired. 

Thus  within  six  years  of  graduation  from  college,  he  resigned 
his  position  as  teacher  to  accept  a  small  established  insurance 
agency.  That  was  in  1866  and,  as  we  all  know  now,  he  had  found 
the  life  work  for  which  he  was  wonderfully  well  adapted.  The 
companies  he  represented  at  first  were  the  Liverpool  and  London 
and  Globe,  the  Phenix  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
the  International  Insurance  Company  of  New  York,  and  the  Mer- 
chants' Insurance  Company  of  Chicago.  After  a  year  he  accepted 
appointment  as  special  agent  for  the  Merchants'  Insurance  Com- 
pany. Then,  having  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  local  agency 
business,  he  removed  to  Chicago,  in  February,  1871.  He  was  still 
busy  with  the  affairs  of  the  Merchants'  when  General  Manager 
Bissell  recognized  in  him  qualities  which  would  count  for  the  Hart- 
ford and,  accepting  Mr.  Bissell's  offer,  Mr.  Royce  became  a  member 
of  the  force  of  the  Western  Department  on  May  i,  1872.  With 
better  opportunities,  always  well  improved,  his  ability  attracted 
wider  attention.  In  August,  1876,  he  was  selected  to  be  secretary 
for  the  Girard  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company  of  Philadelphia 
and  removed    to  that  city. 

But  on  May  i,  1881,  he  was  back  again  with  the  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company  and  with  the  city  of  Hartford  as  his  home,  for 
he  had  received  with  pleasure  the  appointment  as  assistant  secre- 
tary. Five  years  later  he  succeeded  to  the  secretaryship  and  for 
twenty-one  years  thereafter  was  closely  identified  with  the  progress 
we  have  been  noting.  His  splendid  physique,  his  manly  bearing 
and  his  strongly  molded  features  cannot  be  forgotten,  nor  yet  the 
work  he  did  and  above  all  his  manner  of  doing  it. 

He  was  stricken  while  apparently  in  the  full  vigor  of  life.  His 
work  had  been  well  kept  up.  The  minutes  of  the  last  directors' 
meeting  had  been  written  into  the  book,  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  the  next  minutes,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  feeling  memorial 
drawn  up  concerning  the  loss  of  so  valued  an  officer,  just  completed 
the  second  volume  of  directors'  records. 

And  the  new  volume  was  to  begin  with  a  new  administration. 

[  i'6] 


XVI 
OFFICERS  AND  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  COMPANY 

THE"^day  of  President  George  L.  Chase's  death,  January  7, 
1908,  was  the  day  before  that  set  for  the  regular  annual 
meeting.  From  the  minutes  spread  upon  the  records  of 
the  stockholders  at  that  time  —  in  the  historic  old  record  book, — 
we  get  his  associates'  estimate  of  their  chief  executive's  character 
and  also  a  conservative  statement  of  the  company's  growth  and  of 
the  position  it  had  come  to  occupy  at  this  the  closing  period  of  the 
century  of  service.     The  memorial  minutes  in  full  are  as  follows : 

George  L.  Chase  was  elected  director  and  president  of  the  Hartford 
Fire  Insurance  Company  on  the  6th  day  of  June,  1867.  Mr.  Chase  was 
identified  with  the  company  for  almost  forty-five  years  and  was  president 
of  the  company  for  more  than  forty  years.  During  the  first  four  years  of 
his  connection  with  the  company  he  became  assistant  western  agent  at 
Chicago.  Under  his  guidance  as  president  the  company  made  great  progress 
and  developed  from  a  comparatively  small  institution  to  one  of  the  leading 
underwriting  organizations  in  the  country.  His  record  as  an  underwriter 
speaks  for  itself  in  the  history  of  the  company  which  he  served  and  loved. 

Mr.  Chase  was  remarkably  endowed.  He  possessed  to  a  very  unusual 
degree  the  ability  to  choose  men, —  men  whose  character  and  talents  fitted 
them  for  the  particular  branch  of  work  for  which  he  needed  their  services. 
Himself  a  man  of  enthusiasm  and  untiring  energy,  he  was  able  to  inspire 
others  with  similar  qualities.  Moreover,  he  had  the  great  gift  of  under- 
standing and  managing  men  in  such  a  way  as  to  get  from  them  the  best 
work  of  which  they  were  capable  and  at  the  same  time  secure  their  unstinted 
devotion,  loyalty  and  affection  both  for  the  company  and  for  himself  as 
their  leader.  It  can  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  no  executive  officer 
of  an  insurance  company  ever  built  up  a  more  loyal,  devoted  or  capable 
staff  than  that  which  President  Chase  assembled  throughout  the  country  in 
the  service  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

Mr.  Chase  possessed  other  talents  and  abilities  which  fitted  him  for 
leadership.  He  was  gifted  with  mental  power  of  the  sort  which  seizes  upon 
the  essential  points  in  problems  under  consideration.  He  was  able  to  form 
conclusions  and  reach  decisions  in  remarkably  short  time.  Furthermore, 
he  possessed  great  energy,  indomitable  tenacity  of  purpose  and  a  sanguine 

[  "7] 


temperament.  His  courage  and  hopefulness  were  contagious  and  enabled 
those  associated  with  him  to  accomplish  results  beyond  their  expectations. 

Mr.  Chase  to  the  last  was  a  remarkably  progressive  man.  A  keen 
observer  of  men  and  things,  he  was  —  though  a  man  of  the  strongest  con- 
victions —  always  open-minded  to  new  truths  and  while  cherishing  the  old 
was  not  slow  to  adopt  new  methods  which  in  his  judgment  were  likely  to 
give  better  results.  Mr.  Chase  believed  thoroughly  in  the  power  and  effi- 
ciency of  perfect  organization  and  was  himself  a  great  organizer.  It  was  his 
theory  and  practice  to  delegate  to  staff  and  department  managers  all  details 
which  did  not  demand  his  personal  attention,  thus  giving  himself  oppor- 
tunity to  consider  those  larger  matters  which  were  vital  to  the  company's 
progress. 

Mr.  Chase  firmly  believed  in  the  wisdom  and  efficacy  of  honorable 
methods.  He  adopted  for  himself  and  for  the  company  as  a  cardinal  prin- 
ciple the  practice  of  fair  and  straightforward  dealings  with  policyholders, 
with  agents  and  with  other  companies,  and  no  small  part  of  the  high  repu- 
tation and  popularity  of  the  company  is  due  to  this  settled  policy.  Much 
of  the  hig-h  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Chase  was  held  amone  underwriters  was 
due  to  his  active,  helpful  and  often  conspicuous  labors  and  accomplishments 
in  connection  with  the  various  associations  of  underwriters  throughout  the 
country.  He  was  always  willing  to  spend  himself  freely  in  behalf  of  any 
movement  looking  toward  the  betterment  of  the  fire  insurance  community 
as  a  whole  and  was  widely  recognized  as  being  in  the  front  rank  of  those 
who  not  only  advocate  wise  and  fair  rules  for  the  governance  of  underwriting 
practices  but  by  their  daily  conduct  endeavor  to  maintain  the  observance  of 
such  rules.  His  services  in  such  matters  have  been  widely  recognized  and 
he  was  frequently  honored  by  the  highest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  various 
organizations  referred  to  above. 

These  were  the  qualities  which  made  him  a  brilliant  leader  and  a 
beloved  and  honored  executive. 

In  addition,  he  was  himself  devoted  utterly  to  the  progress  and  success 
of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company.  He  delighted  in  its  growth. 
His  work  and  pleasure  were  combined  in  its  service.  This  enthusiastic 
interest  in  his  work,  together  with  the  qualities  herein  enumerated,  resulted 
in  a  most  remarkable  and  exceptional  career  and  made  him  one  of  the  most 
important  factors  in  the  history  of  fire  underwriting  in  this  country 

Mr.  Chase  was  succeeded  in  office  by  his  son,  Charles  Edw^ard 
Chase,  who  was  elected  January  i6,  1908.  The  new  president  was 
born  in  Dubuque,  la.,  March  29,  1857,  and  came  to  Hartford  with 
his  parents  on  his  father's  election  to  the  presidency  in  1867.  Grad- 
uated at  the  Hartford  Public  High  School  in  1876,  he  began  his  fire 
insurance  career  the  next  year,  at  the  age  of  20,  in  the  local  agency 

[  "8  ] 


J.    W.    G.    COFRAN 

VICE    PRESIDENT 


of  the  Hartford  where  he  continued  until  he  entered  the  home 
ofHce  in  1880.  He  applied  himself  with  diligence  to  the  business 
and  improved  every  opportunity  to  acquaint  himself  thoroughly 
with  the  minor  details.  On  February  i,  1894,  he  was  elected 
second  assistant  secretary.  He  was  promoted  to  be  assistant  secre- 
tary, January  8,  1897.  Thoughtful,  serene  at  all  times  and  emi- 
nently capable  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  the  subordinate 
positions,  he  was  deemed  well  qualified  to  share  in  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  office  of  the  chief  executive  and  he  was  chosen  first 
vice  president  January  i,  1903. 

"Insurance  men  are  born,  not  made,"  it  is  sometimes  said. 
Mr.  Chase  was  both  born  and  made.  While  it  was  natural  that 
the  always  contagious  enthusiasm  of  the  father  should  have  affected 
his  own  family,  and  that  his  only  son  should  have  imbibed  a  good 
portion  of  it,  it  already  has  been  made  apparent  by  his  deeds  that 
the  son  had  a  native  tendency  toward  the  business  and  that  he 
would  have  gained  preeminence  in  it  whatever  his  antecedents. 

The  new  president  holds  other  positions  of  responsibility  which 
attest  the  appreciation  of  his  worth  on  the  part  of  the  local  financial 
world.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Hartford  National  Bank,  the  Con- 
necticut Trust  and  Safe  Deposit  Company,  the  Connecticut  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company  and  the  Society  for  Savings,  and,  always 
interested  in  public  affairs,  he  has  served  in  both  boards  of  the  city 
government  and  is  a  member  of  the  Hartford  Board  of  Trade. 

President  Chase,  the  elder,  though  retaining  a  firm  grasp  on 
the  business  to  almost  the  very  last,  had  sought  to  divide  some  of 
the  multiplied  burdens  of  his  office  in  his  advancing  years  and, 
accordingly,  the  vice  presidents  elected  in  1903  were  not  honorary 
or  for  service  in  the  directors'  meetings  only,  but  they  were  to  be 
in  the  office  and  to  take  their  share  in  the  day's  duties  which  were 
now  still  more  departmentized  and  systematized.  To  Mr.  Chase 
it  was  like  rounding  out  his  life  work,  and  that  his  son  was  there 
to  aid  him  intensified  his  pleasure. 

Richard  Mervin  Bissell  of  Chicago  was  elected  second  vice 
president  at  that  January  meeting  in  1903.  Son  of  George  F. 
Bissell  whose  name  is  so  closely  associated  with  the  development  of 
the  Western  Department,  he  was  born  in  Chicago  June  8,  1862. 
On  his  father's  side,  he  was  descended  from  old  New  England 
families  (the  Bissells  and  the  Wilsons)  who  had  played  a  prominent 
part  in  times  of  war  and  in  times  of  peace,  from  the  earliest  days 

[  121  ] 


down.  His  mother,  Jerusha  Woodbridge,  was  a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  Rev.  John  Woodbridge  who  long  had  been  rector  of  the 
parish  of  Stanton,  Wiltshire,  England,  at  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1637.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Woodbridge,  came  to  this 
country  and  for  a  time  was  rector  of  the  parish  in  the  historic  town 
of  Windsor  near  Hartford.  Deacon  Deodatus  Woodbridge,  father 
of  Mr.  Bissell's  mother,  lived  in  East  Hartford.  His  father,  Deo- 
datus, was  brother  of  the  father  of  the  Hon.  Ward  Woodbridge  whom 
we  have  seen  as  one  of  the  original  subscribers  to  the  stock  of  the 
Hartford  and  as  one  of  the  first  board  of  directors.  The  early 
home  of  George  F.  Bissell  was  in  Manchester,  close  by  East  Hart- 
ford, and  it  was  hither  he  returned  from  the  West  for  his  bride  in 

^855-  .  .  .  .  , 

Both   vice   presidents,   then,   were   born   into  the   busmess   and 

both  were  sons  of  New  England  men  who  had  carried  the  good 

work  into  the  western  field. 

After  receiving  the  degree  of  A.  B.  at  Yale  in  the  class  of  '83, 
Mr.  Bissell  began  at  the  bottom  of  the  fire  insurance  ladder,  in  the 
agency  of  Moore  &  Janes  of  Chicago.  Then  entering  the  office  of 
the  Western  Department,  he  filled  subordinate  positions  until  he 
was  appointed  special  agent  and,  with  his  new  duties,  gained 
further  knowledge  of  the  all-important  field  work.  His  next  service 
was  in  the  department  office  with  the  supervision  of  the  special 
hazards  and  large  city  business.  In  August,  1895,  he  was  made 
second  assistant  general  agent,  and  the  following  June  i  he  was 
appointed  associate  general  agent  with  J.  W.  G.  Cofran  for  the 
Western  Department,  which  position  he  was  holding  when  he  was 
honored  with  the  vice  presidency.  In  1909  he  was  given  the  duties  of 
the  newly  created  office  of  underwriting  manager  in  addition  to 
those  of  full  vice  president  which  he  had  discharged  since  Mr. 
Chase's  promotion.  Interested  with  other  insurance  men  in  estab- 
lishing the  course  of  insurance  at  Yale  University,  he  is  one  ot  the 
lecturers  there. 

Vice  President  Bissell  was  president  of  the  Merchants'  Club 
and  a  member  of  the  Commercial,  Literary,  University  and  Union 
League  clubs  of  Chicago.  In  Hartford  he  is  a  member  of  the  lead- 
ing clubs  and  is  a  director  in  the  American  National  Bank,  the 
Connecticut  General  Life  Insurance  Company  and  the  Fidelity 
Trust  Company.  Standing  for  progress  in  the  methods  and  char- 
acter of  the  fire  insurance  business,  and  giving  all  his  great  energy 


[  122  ] 


to  the  work,  he  has  won  place  among  the  first  in  American  under- 
writing today. 

John  W.  G.  Cofran  of  Chicago  was  elected  vice  president 
December  i,  1909.  He  also  is  of  New  England  stock.  He  was 
born  in  Goshen,  N.  H.,  June  13,  1855.  After  his  father's  death  he 
continued  the  farm  work  alone  for  some  time  and  then,  finding 
little  in  its  prospects  to  satisfy  his  ambition,  he  started  for  the 
Pacific  coast.  Hardly  more  than  a  mere  lad,  he  had  only  his  grit 
and  515  in  cash  as  his  assets  when  he  found  employment  as  office 
boy  in  the  San  Francisco  office  of  the  Commercial  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  California.  This  was  in  1874.  In  1879  he  opened  a 
department  for  the  Commercial  Insurance  Company  in  Portland, 
Ore.,  having  Oregon,  Washington  and  Idaho  for  his  territory. 

In  1 88 1  the  Hartford  had  pushed  its  way  into  Oregon  and  Mr. 
Cofran  accepted  a  position  with  it,  having  the  same  territory  but 
with  British  Columbia  added.  He  reported  to  the  Pacific  Depart- 
ment with  headquarters  in  San  Francisco.  A.  P.  Flint,  the  general 
agent  there,  died  in  December,  1885.  Thereupon  Mr.  Cofran  was 
made  general  agent  in  San  Francisco,  and  with  H.  K.  Belden,  who 
had  been  a  California  special  agent,  the  firm  of  Belden  &  Cofran 
was  formed,  general  agents  for  the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  The  Northwestern  Department,  in  Oregon,  was  merged 
with  that  in  San  Francisco. 

On  the  death  in  1895  of  General  Agent  George  F.  Bissell,  Mr. 
Cofran  was  transferred  to  Chicago  as  assistant  general  agent  of  the 
Western  Department  with  General  Agent  Porter  P.  Heywood.  Mr. 
Heywood  dying  in  1896,  the  general  agency  firm  of  Cofran  & 
Bissell  was  formed,  consisting  of  Mr.  Cofran  and  Richard  M. 
Bissell.  When  Mr.  Bissell  left  Chicago  to  go  to  the  home  office 
as  vice  president  in  1903,  A.  G.  Dugan  was  called  from  Kentucky 
and  the  firm  of  Cofran  &  Dugan  was  formed,  continuing  until 
Mr.  Cofran  was  summoned  to  Hartford  as  vice  president.  In 
the  opinion  of  everyone  who  had  known  Mr.  Cofran  or  had 
followed  his  remarkable  career  in  the  West  and  Northwest,  his 
promotion  was  well  earned  and  meant  increased  efficiency  for  the 
company. 

Thomas  TurnbuU,  who  was  connected  with  the  company  for 
thirty-four  years,  was  born  June  30,  1834,  in  Gladsmuir,  Scotland, 
and  came  to  this  country  while  yet  a  young  man.  For  a  time  he 
was  in  the  wholesale  tea  business  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

[  123] 


His  first  experience  in  insurance  was  with  the  Niagara  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company  for  which  he  acted  as  special  agent  in  New  York 
and  New  England  for  seven  years.  In  1876  he  was  appointed 
general  agent  in  New  York  state  for  the  Hartford.  After  ten  years, 
June  II,  1886,  he  was  made  assistant  secretary  at  the  home  office. 
His  long  and  faithful  service  won  him  promotion  to  the  secretary- 
ship January  8,  1908,  following  the  death  of  Philander  C.  Royce, 
December  i,  1907.  Mr.  Turnbull  contemplated  earlier  retirement 
but  his  desire  to  serve  during  the  centennial  year  led  him  to  with- 
hold his  resignation  till  it  should  take  effect  April  i,  1910.  His 
associates  and  the  entire  office  and  field  force  have  evidenced  the 
high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held. 

Frederick  Samson,  secretary,  born  In  Glastonbury  March  29, 
1847,  has  been  with  the  company  nearly  half  of  its  whole  century. 
He  began  March  17,  1866,  as  a  clerk  when  there  were  only  three 
officers  and  three  clerks.  He  was  special  agent  for  several  years  in 
the  '70's  and  then  had  charge  of  the  loss  department  in  the  home 
office  for  over  twenty  years  with  the  title  of  general  agent.  He 
was  appointed  assistant  secretary  January  16,  1908,  and  secretary 
June  7,  1910. 

S.  E.  Locke,  secretary,  had  his  first  insurance  experience  in  the 
town  in  which  he  was  born.  Glens  Falls,  N.  Y.  His  birthday  was 
February  5,  1866,  and  he  was  still  a  youth  when  he  became  clerk 
in  the  office  of  the  Glens  Falls  Fire  Insurance  Company.  He  came 
to  Hartford  as  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Orient  Insurance  Com- 
pany in  January,  1887.  After  nearly  nine  years,  mostly  spent 
in  field  work,  he  went  with  the  Philadelphia  Underwriters  as  special 
agent.  In  1899  he  became  assistant  secretary  of  the  Reading  which 
was  reinsured  by  the  Hartford  in  1902.  For  a  short  time  after 
that  he  was  special  agent  of  the  Westchester  in  New  York.  On 
March  i,  1904,  he  was  given  charge  of  the  Hartford's  New  York 
state  business;  in  September,  1905,  he  was  appointed  superinten- 
dent of  agencies  and  on  January  8,  1908,  he  v/as  promoted  to  be 
assistant  secretary.  On  June  7  of  this  centennial  year  he  was  made 
secretary. 

These  secretaries  are  in  the  underwriting  department.  On  the 
same  date  the  directors  created  the  office  of  recording  secretary  and 
Daniel  J.  Glazier  was  the  appointee.  Mr.  Glazier  is  a  native  of 
Hartford  where  he  was  born  January  20,  1865.  On  leaving  school 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Phoenix  Insurance  Company.     Later 

[  124] 


he  was  secretary  of  the  Schuyler  Electric  Company,  of"  Middletown, 
Conn.  On  December  i,  1895,  he  came  with  the  Hartford  and  has 
been  in  the  financial  and  investment  department  ever  since. 

The  appointments  of  all  three  secretaries  was  in  accord  with  the 
principles  of  civil  service  and  in  recognition  of  most  faithful  dis- 
charge of  duty. 

Since  George  M.  Coit's  secretaryship,  ending  in  1870,  John 
D.  Browne  had  been  secretary  from  February  i,  1870,  to  Novem- 
ber I,  1880;  Charles  B.  Whiting  from  November  20,  1880,  to  June 
I,  1886,  and  Philander  C.  Royce  from  that  date  till  December  i, 
1907.  Mr.  Browne  resigned  to  become  president  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Fire  Insurance  Company  and  Mr.  Whiting  to  become  president 
of  the  Orient  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

Christopher  C.  Lyman  had  continued  as  assistant  secretary  till 
his  resignation,  June  i,  1878.  The  position  then  remained  vacant 
till  the  election  of  Mr.  Royce,  who  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Turn- 
bull  and  he  by  Mr.  Samson  and  Mr.  Locke. 

Hartford  is  sometimes  called  the  "Home  of  Insurance  Presi- 
dents." The  Hartford  Fire  has  produced  several,  itself  having  had 
but  six.  Secretaries  who  have  become  presidents  of  other  Hart- 
ford companies  are :  James  G.  Bolles,  president  of  North  American 
Fire  Insurance  Company;  Caleb  B.  Bowers,  president  of  the 
City  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  of  the  Putnam  Fire  Insurance 
Company;  ,  John  D.  Browne,  president  of  the  Connecticut 
Fire  Insurance  Company;  Charles  B.  Whiting,  president  of  the 
Orient  Fire  Insurance  Company.  Directors  who  have  become 
presidents  of  other  Hartford  companies  are :  Thomas  K.  Brace, 
president  of  the  Mtna.  Insurance  Company,  and  David  F.  Robin- 
son, president  of  the  Protection  Insurance  Company.  President 
DeWitt  C.  Skilton  of  the  Phoenix  Fire  Insurance  Company  of 
Hartford  was  formerly  employed  in  the  office  of  the  Hartford. 
Secretary  A.  F.  Wilmarth  became  vice  president  of  the  Home  Fire 
Insurance  Company  of  New  York  and  Secretary  George  M.  Coit 
assistant  manager  of  the  Royal  Insurance  Company  of  Liverpool, 
England. 

BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS 

The  directors  of  the  company  from  the  beginning  have  been 
men  of  highest  worth  in  the  community,  men  who  have  done  much 
to  establish  and  maintain  Hartford's  place  in  the  world  of  com- 
merce, industry  and   finance.     Each  of  the  names  in  the  full  list 

[    125   ] 


printed  on   another  page  is   known  to  ail  who  have  familiarized 
themselves  with  the  city's  history  and  progress. 

For  the  first  quarter  of  the  century  the  board  passed  upon  risks, 
appointments  and  all  matters  of  administration.  When  growth 
of  business  no  longer  would  admit  of  this,  the  duties  were  assigned 
one  after  another  to  committees  and  then  to  the  executive  officers, 
who  eventually  had  to  be  increased  in  number.  In  no  way  can  the 
development  of  the  company  be  followed  better  than  in  the  minutes 
in  the  records  of  the  board  embodying  these  changes. 

Of  the  present  board,  Jonathan  B.  Bunce  is  president  of  the 
Society  for  Savings ;  president  of  the  board  of  directors  and  chair- 
man of  the  finance  committee  of  the  Phoenix  Mutual  Life  Insur- 
ance Company,  a  trustee  in  the  Connecticut  Trust  and  Safe  Deposit 
Company,  vice  president  Hartford  Hospital,  president  of  the 
Retreat  for  Insane,  vice  president  of  the  American  School  at 
Hartford  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  and  director  in  the  Phoenix 
National  Bank. 

James  J.  Goodwin  is  a  trustee  in  the  Connecticut  Trust  and 
Safe  Deposit  Company  and  a  director  in  the  Connecticut  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company,  the  Erie  Railroad,  the  Holyoke  Water 
Power  Company,  the  Collins  Company  and  the  Wadsworth 
Atheneum. 

^Theodore  Lyman,  son  of  the  late  Assistant  Secretary  Christopher 
C. rLyman,  is  a  vice  president  of  the  Society  for  Savings;  trustee 
in  the  Hartford  Trust  Company  and  a  director  in  the  Connecticut 
General  Life  Insurance  Company. 

George  Roberts,  late  president  of  the  Hartford  Carpet  Corpora- 
tion, is  a  trustee  in  the  Connecticut  Trust  and  Safe  Deposit  Com- 
pany and  a  director  in  the  American  National  Bank,  the  Travelers 
Insurance  Company  and  the  Travelers  Indemnit}'  Company. 

William  C.  Skinner  is  president  of  the  Colt's  Patent  Firearms 
Company,  a  vice  president  of  the  Society  for  Savings,  a  trustee  in 
the  Fidelity  Trust  Company  and  a  director  in  the  Connecticut 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  and  in  the  Phoenix  National 
Bank. 

Meigs  H.  WTiaples  is  president  of  the  Connecticut  Trust 
and  Safe  Deposit  Company,  a  vice  president  of  the  Society  for 
Savings,  a  director  in  the  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany, the  Collins  Company,  the  Stanley  Rule  and  Level  Company 
and  the  Board  of  Trade,  trustee  of  the  Scottish  Union  and  National 

[  126] 


Fire  Insurance  Company  and  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  River 
Bridge  Commission. 

James  M.  Thomson,  formerly  one  of  Connecticut's  leading 
merchants,  is  a  trustee  in  the  Society  for  Savings  and  a  director  in 
the  Phoenix  National  Bank. 

Charles  E.  Chase  is  president  of  the  company  and  Richard  M. 
Bissell  vice  president  and  underwriting  manager. 


[  127  ] 


XVII 
AGENCY  SYSTEM  AND  DEPARTMENTS 

THE  relations  of  agents  to  the  company  and  of  the  company 
to  the  agents  has  formed  an  integral  part  of  our  story.  The 
present  system  is  a  development  in  accord  with  the  most 
advanced  ideas  of  one  period  after  another,  from  the  time  ot  Jonathan 
G.  W.  Trumbull  of  Norwich  down  to  the  appointments  made  one 
hundred  years  later. 

The  early  stages  of  compensation  —  the  policy  tee  of  50  cents 
paid  by  the  insured,  the  gratuities  and  the  commission  of  5  per  cent 
—  have  been  noted.  After  1816,  the  commissions  varied  from  5 
and  7^  per  cent  to  10  per  cent  according  to  location,  that  is,  accord- 
ing to  the  amount  of  business  a  man  would  be  supposed  to  do  when 
his  neighborhood  was  taken  into  consideration. 

When  the  first  Book  of  Instructions  was  issued  in  1839,  the 
prevailing  commission  was  7^  per  cent.  With  1840  came  an  increase 
to  ID  per  cent  and  this  was  raised  to  15  per  cent  in  i860.  That 
has  been  the  minimum  commission  ever  since. 

Agents  in  the  old  days  reported  once  a  month  or,  if  they  were 
as  far  away  as  New  York  state,  once  in  six  months  would  serve  the 
purpose.  The  wonderful  system  of  daily  reports  was  not  devised 
until  in  the  '6o's,  nor  could  it  be  effective  till  the  home  offices  had 
equipped  themselves  with  the  statistics  and  maps  which  enable 
them  to  form  a  conception  for  themselves  of  the  risks  reported. 

A  sheet  of  instructions  to  the  agents  about  1835  shows  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  specific  policy  and  orders  the  agents  to  divide  "the 
sum  insured  into  many  parts."  The  last  paragraph  voices  the 
constant  sentiment  of  the  company,  as  follows : 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  agents  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance 
Company  will  not  descend  to  the  ruinous  practice  of  underbidding 
other  offices  to  obtain  business.  There  is  a  point  below  which  if 
we  descend  our  annual  receipts  will  not  equal  our  losses.  So  great 
folly  ought  to  withdraw  from  us  that  public  confidence  which  should 
give  us  preference  over  other  offices  at  equal  rates  of  premium. 
Our  premiums  should  not  be  higher  than  to  yield  a  fair  profit  for 

[  128  ] 


FREDERICK  SAMSON 

Secrt'lary 


SIDNEY   E.  LOCKE 

Secretary 


DANIEL    J.  GLAZIER 

RocordlnK    Secretary 


the  hazard  we  incur  of  losing  capital  by  extraordinary  fires.  Such 
premiums  the  public  are  willing  to  give,  and  the  confidence  we 
should  inspire  should  be  the  result  of  an  even  and  equitable  course 
of  conduct  toward  the  insured  under  all  circumstances,  especially 
in  case  of  loss." 

We  have  seen  that  the  company  at  a  comparatively  early  date 
in  its  history  began  to  establish  agencies  in  what  were  then  remote 
sections  of  the  country,  as  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  Business 
in  these  sections  kept  pace  with  the  rapid  development  of  the  country, 
and  as  it  increased  it  became  more  and  more  difficult  for  the  home 
office  to  supervise  and  direct  its  expansion.  Although,  judged  by 
modern  standards,  the  means  of  communication  were  imperfect, 
it  was  imperative  that  the  company's  officers  at  Hartford  should 
keep  in  close  touch  with  the  agents  in  every  section.  Accordingly 
the  department  system  of  handling  the  business  came  into  being. 

THE    EASTERN    DEPARTMENT 

Of  course  the  main  business  continued  to  be  conducted  directly 
from  the  home  office  which,  when  the  divisions  were  established, 
was  called  the  Eastern  Department.  The  territory  now  covered 
by  this  department  includes  all  of  Canada  except  British  Columbia, 
the  New  England  states.  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware,  the  District  of  Columbia  and  Arkansas. 

THE    WESTERN    DEPARTMENT 

The  first  department  to  be  established  in  the  outlying  sections 
was  and  is  still  called  the  Western  Department.  Items  in  its  history 
have  been  given  on  earlier  pages  as  they  formed  an  integral  part 
of  the  main  story  of  the  company's  growth,  but  as  it  is  the  oldest 
as  well  as  the  largest  of  the  company's  branches  its  concise  and 
consecutive  history  should  be  given. 

It  was  created  by  vote  of  the  board  of  directors  at  their  meeting 
May  i8,  1852.  Columbus,  Ohio,  was  made  the  headquarters  and 
Demas  Adams  was  appointed  general  agent.  The  territory  assigned 
to  Mr.  Adams  comprised  eight  states,  namely:  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Missouri  and  Kentucky.  Mr. 
Adams  acted  as  general  agent  only  three  years  but  evidently  he 
made  a  strong  impression  on  the  officers  and  directors  for  when 
President  Huntington  tendered  his  resignation  as  president  in  1853 
the   directors   seriously  considered   offering  the  presidency  to  Mr. 

[  '3'  ] 


Adams.  Indeed  they  did  tentatively  broach  the  subject  to  him 
but  later,  and  in  accord  with  Mr.  Adams's  hope,  they  prevailed 
upon  Mr.  Huntington  to  continue  to  serve.  Mr.  Adams  died  in 
September,  1854. 

David  Alexander  w^as  appointed  general  agent  for  the  depart- 
ment in  October,  1854.  Under  him  the  business  of  the  department 
expanded  greatly  so  that  in  a  few  years  the  employment  of  special 
agents  became  necessary.  At  first  the  work  of  planting  new  agencies, 
adjusting  losses  and  supervising  the  business  was  intrusted  to  the 
local  agents  in  the  various  states,  selected  by  reason  of  their  unusual 
efficiency  and  trustworthiness.  One  of  these,  George  Francis 
Bissell,  who  had  been  local  agent  at  Dubuque,  la.,  since  1853,  was 
selected  about  i860  to  act  as  a  regular  traveling  supervisor  or  special 
agent,  with  headquarters  in  Chicago,  a  city  which  rapidly  was 
gaining  the  ascendency  for  that  section,  then  known  as  the  Far 
West. 

Mr.  Bissell  was  appointed  general  agent  upon  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  Alexander,  January  31,  1863,  the  appointment  dating'from 
March  30  of  that  year.  It  being  clearly  indicated  by  this  time  that 
Chicago  was  to  be  the  commercial  and  financial  center  of  the  Missis- 
sippi valley,  the  department  headquarters  were  removed  to  that 
city  from  Columbus  almost  immediately  upon  Mr.  Bissell's  appoint- 
ment, or  in  May,  1863. 

General  Agent  Bissell  became  one  of  Chicago's  foremost  citi- 
zens. Endowed  with  remarkable  vitality  and  force,  he  materially 
advanced  the  company's  cause  from  the  outset.  His  record  at 
the  time  of  the  Chicago  fire  we  already  have  noted.  A  home  office 
publication  said  of  him:  "He  possessed  the  confidence  of  the 
officers  and  the  directors  in  a  high  degree,  and  in  all  business  matters 
intrusted  to  him  good  judgment  and  unswerving  fidelity  marked 
their  consummation.  His  ability  as  an  underwriter  was  always 
recognized  by  his  associates  in  the  profession,  but  to  none  was  this 
fact  better  known  than  to  those  with  whom  daily  intercourse  was 
the  rule.  Broadminded  and  possessed  of  good  common  sense, 
he  was  always  patient  to  hear  and  considerate  to  act  in  all  the  many 
intricate  problems  submitted  for  his  consideration  and  judgment. 
His  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  Hartford  remains  an  inheritance 
and  example  for  his  brother  officers  to  emulate." 

A  public-spirited  man,  he  was  a  leader  in  enterprises  that  tended 
to  the  advantage  of  the  city  of  his  adoption.     He  was  one  of  the 

[  132  ] 


founders  of  the  Union  League  Club  and  was  its  president  in  1889. 
For  several  years  he  was  president  of  the  Presbyterian  Social  Union 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  served  ten  years  as  treasurer 
of  the  Old  People's  Home. 

Mr.  Bissell  was  born  in  Manchester,  Conn.,  only  a  few  miles 
from  the  home  office  of  the  Hartford,  on  June  22,  1827.  His  paternal 
great-grandfather  fought  in  the  colonial  wars  and  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  His  grandfather  also  served  in  the  Continental  Army 
and  was  a  major  in  the  regular  army  at  the  time  of  his  death  follo\\ - 
ing  the  declaration  of  peace.  On  his  mother's  side,  his  grand- 
father William  Wilson  was  one  of  Washington's  men.  Mr.  Bissell 
was  educated  in  Manchester  and  married  there  in  1855,  Jerusha 
Woodbridge,  daughter  of  Deodatus  Woodbridge  who  was  the 
cousin  of  Ward  Woodbridge,  one  of  the  original  subscribers  and 
first  directors  of  the  Hartford.  After  engaging  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Hartford  for  a  time,  Mr.  Bissell  went  West  in  1850  and, 
with  a  brother,  conducted  a  grocery  and  commission  business  in 
Dublique,  la.,  till  he  became  local  agent  for  the  Hartford  in  1853. 
He  died  June  25,  1895,  after  more  than  forty  years  of  continuous 
and  most  valuable  service  for  the  company.  At  a  memorial  meeting 
of  underwriters  in  Chicago,  many  spoke  of  him,  his  influence  and 
his  work  in  the  highest  terms. 

Porter  P.  Heywood  was  made  general  agent  succeeding  Mr. 
Bissell,  in  July,  1895.  He  also  was  a  New  Englander.  Born  in 
Westminster,  Mass.,  in  1829,  he  remained  in  that  quiet  town  until 
1855  when  he  went  West  and  followed  the  profession  of  school 
teaching.  At  one  time  he  was  principal  of  the  public  schools  of 
Aurora,  111.  His  fire  insurance  career  dated  from  his  connection 
with  the  office  of  Moore   &  Stearns  of  Chicago  in  1864. 

In  January,  1866,  Mr.  Heywood  began  with  the  Hartford,  as  an 
adjuster  in  the  Western  Department.  After  two  years  he  went 
with  the  Insurance  Company  of  North  America,  only  however  to 
return  to  the  Hartford  in  November,  1869,  under  appointment  as 
general  agent  in  the  coast  territory  where  the  Pacific  Department 
was  being  organized  with  headquarters  in  San  Francisco.  Trans- 
ferred from  the  coast  to  Chicago  in  1872,  he  had  been  made  assistant 
general  agent  in  the  Western  Department  with  Mr.  Bissell,  whom 
he  was  destined  to  succeed.  At  his  death,  April  28,  1896,  after 
he  had  given  of  his  best  to  the  Hartford  for  a  period  of  nearly  thirty 
full  years,  the  Chicago  Underwriters'  Association  said  of  him,  in 

[  133  ] 


memorial  resolutions:  "He  enriched  his  own  character  by  a  noble 
generosity  to  his  fellow  men." 

Mr.  Heywood  also  was  prominent  in  the  social  and  literary  life 
of  Chicago,  a  member  of  several  organizations  and  societies,  includ- 
ing the  Art  Institute,  the  Illinois  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution,  the  Marquette  Club,  and  the  Union  League  Club,  of 
which  latter  club  he  was  vice  president. 

John  W.  G.  Cofran  was  appointed  assistant  general  agent  with 
Mr.  Heywood  in  August,  1895,  and  Richard  M.  Bissell,  son  of 
George  F.  Bissell,  was  appointed  second  assistant  general  agent. 
Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Heywood,  these  two  gentlemen  were  made 
general  agents  under  the  firm  name  of  Cofran  &  Bissell.  On 
January  i,  1903,  Mr.  Bissell  was  called  to  Hartford  as  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  company.  The  following  October  i,  Mr.  Cofran  and 
A.  G.  Dugan,  who  had  been  chosen  from  the  Kentucky  field,  formed 
the  general  agency  firm  of  Cofran  &  Dugan,  with  W.  C.  Boorn 
as  assistant  general  agent.  Mr.  Boorn's  appointment  was  made 
on  November  i  of  that  year.  Six  years  later,  on  December  i,  1909, 
Mr.  Cofran  was  called  to  the  home  office  as  vice  president.  There- 
upon, January  i,  1910,  Mr.  Dugan  was  appointed  general  agent 
and  Mr.  Boorn  continued  as  assistant  general  agent. 

The  states  in  the  department  today  are  Ohio,  Indiana,  West 
Virginia,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Wyoming, 
Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Kentucky,  Oklahoma  and  Tennessee. 

THE    PACIFIC    DEPARTMENT 

The  Pacific  Department  was  organized  in  1870.  As  far  back 
as  1857  Edward  McLean  had  been  made  an  agent  in  San  Francisco 
and  John  Fowler  and  H.  H.  Bigelow  had  commissions  at  about 
the  same  time.  In  1861  they  were  succeeded  by  the  firm  of  Bigelow 
Brothers,  with  which  A.  P.  Flint  was  connected. 

In  May,  1866,  the  question  of  withdrawal  from  California  was 
left  to  the  executive  officers  and  apparently  at  that  time  the  company 
did  withdraw. 

On  the  recommendation  of  President  George  L.  Chase,  after 
a  visit  to  the  coast,  it  was  decided  in  September,  1869,  to  re-enter 
the  field.  Porter  P.  Heywood  was  appointed  general  agent  there 
in  November,  1869,  and  in  1870  organization  was  completed  with  the 
appointment  of  General  Agent  Augustus  P.  Flint  and  the  formation 

[  134] 


of  the  firm  of  Flint  &  Heywood.  When  Mr.  Heywood  was 
transferred  to  Chicago  in  1872,  the  duties  of  general  agent  devolved 
upon  Mr.  Flint  alone  until  his  death  in  1885.  Henry  Keeney 
Belden  and  John  W.  G.  Cofran  succeeded  Mr.  Flint  as  managers 
under  the  firm  name  of  Belden   &  Cofran. 

Mr.  Belden  was  well  equipped  for  the  work.  He  had  been 
connected  with  the  company  since  1864,  in  which  year  he  entered 
the  local  office  in  Milwaukee.  He  was  born  in  New  York  in  1849 
but  most  of  his  life  up  to  this  time  had  been  spent  in  Milwaukee. 
In  1866  he  went  to  the  Western  Department  offices  in  Chicago. 
Three  years  later  he  was  made  head  clerk  in  the  San  Francisco 
office  and  in  1878  local  agent  in  that  city.  From  1880  to  the  time 
of  his  appointment  with  Mr.  Cofran,  he  was  special  agent  and 
adjuster. 

The  business  prospered  greatly  under  the  management  of  this 
firm.  Mr.  Cofran  having  been  transferred  to  the  Western  Depart- 
ment as  assistant  general  agent  in  1895,  Mr.  Belden  on  July  i  of 
that  year  became  sole  manager  of  the  Pacific  Department  with 
Whitney  Palache  as  assisant  manager.  In  1902  Mr.  Belden  and 
Mr.  Palache  were  appointed  associate  managers  under  the  firm 
name  of  Belden  &  Palache.  Mr.  Belden  died  May  26,  1903, 
leaving  a  name  worthy  of  high  place  on  the  company's  roll  of 
honor. 

Whitney  Palache  is  a  native  of  San  Francisco  and  has  gained 
his  position  through  industry,  fidelity  and  clear-sightedness.  Born 
in  1866,  he  completed  his  preparatory  course  with  honor  and 
entered  the  University  of  California  in  1882  with  the  expectation 
of  becoming  a  lawyer,  but  at  the  end  of  his  sophomore  year  the 
condition  of  his  health  compelled  him  to  abandon  that  plan  and 
he  was  drawn  toward  insurance  as  a  vocation.  Accepting  a  sub- 
ordinate position  in  the  office  of  the  Union  Insurance  Company  of 
California  (later  absorbed  by  the  Alliance  Insurance  Company  of 
Philadelphia),  he  soon  became  special  agent  and  after  two  years  in 
that  capacity,  in  1890  he  accepted  a  similar  position  with  the  Hart- 
ford, his  territory  consisting  of  the  northwestern  states  of  the  Pacific 
Department  with  headquarters  at  Portland,  Ore.  On  October  i, 
1903,  Mr.  Palache  and  Dixwell  Hewitt  were  appointed  general 
agents  of  the  Pacific  Department,  the  firm  name  being  Palache  & 
Hewitt.  The  earthquake  year  of  1906  was  a  season  of  stress  to 
test  the  mettle  of  any  men  but  Palache    &  Hewitt  proved  to  be 

[  '35  ] 


both  cool-headed  and  tireless  and  their  business  has  increased 
splendidly  since  then. 

Mr.  Hewitt  began  his  insurance  career  in  1886  as  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  Pacific  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters  and  subsequently 
was  made  surveyor  for  the  board.  In  1892  he  was  appointed 
special  agent  of  the  Orient  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  the  Provi- 
dence and  Washington  Insurance  Company  and  in  1895  became 
special  agent  of  the  Union  Assurance  Society  of  London.  In  1898 
he  was  made  special  agent  of  the  Manchester  Fire  Assurance  Com- 
pany and  the  Caledonian  Insurance  Company.  In  1891  he  was 
called  to  the  Phoenix  Assurance  Company  of  London  as  assistant 
manager  of  its  Pacific  Department  and  in  1902  the  demonstration  of 
his  worth  had  secured  for  him  the  position  of  associate  manager  for  the 
Phoenix  of  London  and  the  Providence-Washington.  He  resigned 
this  office  in   1903  to  become  associate  manager  of  the  Hartford. 

The  Pacific  Department  comprises  California,  Oregon,  Wash- 
ington, Montana,  Idaho,  Utah,  Nevada,  Arizona,  Alaska,  British 
Columbia  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

THE    TEXAS   DEPARTMENT 

The  first  general  agent  to  be  named  for  the  state  of  Texas  was 
Captain  D.  E.  Grove  who  was  chosen  for  the  position  November  i, 
1894.  For  ten  years,  latterly  with  W.  B.  Hays  as  assistant  general 
agent,  he  rendered  service  which  won  for  him  high  encomium  from 
President  Chase  on  his  retirement  in  1904.  Mr.  Hays,  who  had 
shown  much  energy  and  zeal,  also  retired  at  that  time.  John|B. 
Hereford  took  up  the  duties  as  general  agent  for  the  state  on  August 
15,  1904.  Prior  to  1891  he  was  engaged  in  local  insurance  business 
with  the  agency  of  Hereford  &  Furst  of  Dallas.  Subsequently  he 
became  special  agent  for  Texas  of  the  Guardian  Insurance  Corpora- 
tion, which  was  reinsured  by  the  Hartford  in  1894.  That  year  Mr. 
Hereford  received  appointment  as  special  agent  for  the  Liverpool 
and  London  and  Globe  Insurance  Company.  He  was  promoted 
to  be  state  agent  in  1903,  which  position  he  held  at  the  time  he  was 
made  general  agent  for  the  Hartford  with  offices  at  Dallas.  It  was 
not  until  the  summer  of  1906  that  the  department  was  fully  organ- 
ized. Mr.  Hereford's  broad  experience  and  wide  acquaintance 
enable  him  to  direct  the  energies  of  his  men  in  the  right  channels 
and  to  supplement  the  efforts  of  the  home  office  to  maintain  and 
improve  the  company's  position  in  the  Lone  Star  state. 

[  136] 


THE    SOUTHERN    DEPARTMENT 

The  youngest  of  the  departments  but  one  that  is  full  of  life, 
is  splendidly  equipped  and  is  proving  its  worthiness  in  the  territory 
where,  in  the  old  days  of  Secretary  BoUes,  the  policyholder  objected 
to  the  presence  of  the  earthquake  clause  in  his  policy,  is  the  Southern 
Department.  This  was  organized  in  the  last  year  of  the  company's 
century,  February  i,  iQog,  with  Thomas  Egleston  and  W.  R. 
Prescott  as  general  agents,  the  firm  name  being  Egleston  &  Prescott. 
Their  headquarters  are  at  Atlanta  and  their  territory  comprises 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Ala- 
bama, Mississippi  and  Louisiana. 

Thomas  Egleston  came  with  the  company  in  1877  when  he  was 
appointed  local  agent  at  Atlanta.  Six  years  later  he  was  made 
special  agent  for  the  states  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama  and  Louisiana.  In  1885  he 
was  promoted  to  be  general  agent. 

Up  to  this  time,  with  a  territory  covering  eight  states,  Mr. 
Egleston  had  supervised  the  entire  business  of  the  territory  and 
had  adjusted  practically  all  the  losses  without  assistance.  The 
growth  of  the  business  now  necessitated  additional  help  and  Mr. 
Egleston  appointed  his  first  special  agent  in  1889;  subsequently 
other  special  agents  were  employed.  Mr.  Egleston  justly  may  be 
proud  of  his  unbroken  success  in  the  management  of  the  Hartford's 
southern  interests.  He  is  courteous  but  firm  in  the  enforcement  of 
his  convictions  and  altogether  has  been  for  years  one  of  the  most 
notable  figures  in  southern  fire  underwriting. 

W.  R.  Prescott,  the  associate  general  agent,  entered  the  service 
of  the  Hartford  in  April,  1889,  as  special  agent  throughout  Mr. 
Egleston's  territory.  He  resigned  in  July,  1894,  to  accept  the 
position  of  assistant  manager  of  the  Southern  Department  of  the 
Queen  Insurance  Company,  where  he  continued  until  January, 
1906,  when  the  firm  of  Egleston  &  Prescott  was  formed  and  he 
became  associate  general  agent  of  the  Hartford,  ripe  in  experience 
and  devoted  to  his  calling. 

MARINE    AND    TRANSPORTATION    DEPARTMENT 

The  Marine  and  Transportation  Department  was  organized  at 
the  home  office  April  10,  1909.  It  is  under  the  direction  of  C.  S. 
Timberlake.  Mr.  Timberlake  has  been  in  the  fire  insurance  busi- 
ness since  1896  when  he  was  appointed  special  agent  for  Providence- 

[  137  ] 


Washington  Insurance  Company  for  the  Middle  Northwestern 
states.  In  1904  he  became  general  agency  superintendent  of  the 
fire  branch  for  the  Federal  Insurance  Company  and  Assurance 
Company  of  America,  with  headquarters  in  New  York.  In  1906 
he  joined  the  forces  of  Chubb  &  Son  of  New  York  as  agency  super- 
intendent for  their  Inland  Marine  Department,  resigning  in  April, 
1909,  to  accept  the  office  of  general  agent  for  the  Inland  Marine 
Department  of  the  Hartford. 

The  contracts  issued  under  the  supervision  of  this  department 
indicate  the  wide  scope  of  insurance  as  developed  since  the  days  of 
Wadsworth  and  of  Nathaniel  Terry.  Following  is  a  synopsis  of 
them : 

Automobiles  :  —  This  policy  covers  against  actual  loss  or  damage  caused 
by  fire  arising  from  any  cause  whatsoever,  including  explosion,  self-ignition 
and  lightning;  also  risk  of  navigation  and  transportation  and  while  on  board 
railroad  cars  against  loss  or  damage  caused  by  derailment  of  the  car  or 
collision  of  railroad  car  with  another  railroad  car,  or  while  on  board  steamer 
against  loss  caused  by  stranding,  sinking  or  burning  or  collision  with  another 
vessel,  including  general  average  and  salvage  charges  and  against  loss  by 
theft,  robbery  or  pilferage  if  amounting  to  ^^25  on  each  occasion.  The 
policy  covers  the  automobile  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada. 

Collision  Insurance  :  —  This  is  written  under  form  of  endorsement 
attached  to  the  automobile  policy  which  covers  the  machine  so  insured 
against  damage  sustained  through  collision  with  any  object  whether  moving 
or  stationary. 

Tourist  Floater  Policy  :  —  This  policy  covers  personal  effects,  from 
the  time  they  are  taken  from  permanent  residence  until  their  return,  against 
all  risk  of  fire,  navigation  and  transportation  including  the  risk  of  theft  of 
entire  shipping  package  while  in  custody  of  the  common  carrier,  and  also 
includes  the  risk  of  theft  not  exceeding  15  per  cent  of  the  face  of  the  policy 
for  loss  of  entire  grip  or  trunk  while  in  the  apartments  of  the  assured  or 
checked  against  receipt  in  any  hotel  or  boarding  house.  Policies  are  issued 
under  two  forms,  one  covering  travel  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  and 
the  other  without  limit  as  to  territory. 

Salesmen's  Samples  Policies:  —  These  contracts  protect  the  samples 
used  for  the  display  or  direct  sale  of  the  traveling  representatives  anywhere 
in  the  United  States  against  all  the  risk  of  navigation,  transportation  and 
fire  and  also  against  risk  of  theft  of  entire  trunk  and  its  contents  while  in 
the  custody  of  the  common  carrier.  The  policy  attaches  immediately  on 
samples'  leaving  the  store  or  warehouse  of  the  assured  and  so  continues  until 
their  return. 

[  138] 


WESTERN  DEPARTMENT 


A.   G.  DUGAN 

General  Agent 


W.  C.  BOORN 

Assistant  General    Agent 


J.   J.   PURCELL 

Second    Assistant   G(-neral    A^onl 


Motor  Boats:  —  This  contract  covers  on  engines,  machinery,  hulls, 
fittings  and  furniture  and  protects  against  all  perils  of  navigation  and  inland 
and  coastwise  waters  including  fire,  explosion,  collision,  theft  and  jettison. 

Horse  and  Wagon  Floaters  :  —  This  policy  covers  horses  and  vehicles 
and  merchandise  on  wagons  against  all  the  risk  of  fire  and  lightning,  also 
while  on  board  railroad  cars;  also  damage  caused  by  derailment  of  the  cars 
or  collision  of  the  railroad  car  with  another  railroad  car.  This  contract 
however  does  not  cover  injury  to  livestock  caused  by  coupling  or  uncoupling 
of  cars;  this  also  covers  while  on  board  steamer  against  loss  caused  by 
stranding,  sinking,  burning  or  collision  with  another  vessel. 

Registered  Mail:  —  This  policy  covers  consignments  of  bonds,  cou- 
pons, bank  notes,  certificates  of  stock,  currency  and  other  securities  or 
valuables  against  all  risk  while  sent  by  registered  mail  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  The  contract  attaches  from  the  time 
the  property  is  deposited  and  registered  at  the  post  office  and  so  continues 
until  delivered  to  the  place  of  address. 

Mail  Package  Insurance  :  —  This  guarantees  the  safe  delivery  of  mer- 
chandise sent  by  registered  or  unregistered  mail.  The  contract  attaches  at 
the  time  of  delivery  at  the  post  until  delivery  at  the  place  of  address. 

Merchandise  in  Transit:  —  This  policy  is  issued  under  either  open 
policy  or  annual  contract  protecting  against  all  the  risks  of  fire,  navigation 
and  transportation  but  covering  all  rail  and  ferries  running  in  connection 
with  all  rail  routes,  sound,  coastwise,  river  and  Great  Lakes  shipments. 


[  '4>  ] 


XVIII 
HOME  OFFICE 

THE  present  home  office  of  the  company  is  in  its  large 
granite  building  at  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Trumbull 
streets.  After  the  removal  in  1835  from  Walter  Mitchell's 
law  office,  No.  262  State  street,  to  the  rooms  at  No.  16  State  street, 
increasing  business  was  accommodated  by  occasional  enlargement 
of  the  quarters  till  in  1854  new  offices  were  secured  on  Main  street, 
just  north  of  Pratt  street.  Still  more  space  being  required,  the 
company  moved  again,  in  1859,  to  a  substantial  office  building  on 
Main  street  opposite  the  old  state  house. 

Calculations  as  to  space  were  being  upset  frequently  by  the 
growth  of  the  business  and  also  by  the  multiplication  of  maps  and 
other  equipment,  while  the  need  of  capacious  and  wholly  secure 
vault  room  was  making  itself  more  and  more  manifest.  Accord- 
ingly the  four-story  building  at  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Trumbull 
streets  was  built  in  1869,  and  occupied  in  1870,  large  enough,  it 
was  believed,  to  satisfy  all  requirements  for  one  generation  at  least 
and  provided  with  every  device  then  known  for  security  and  for 
facility  in  conducting  business.  The  Trumbull  street  frontage  was 
sixty  feet  and  the  depth  on  Pearl  street  one  hundred  feet.  Only 
the  south  half  of  the  first  floor  was  occupied  by  the  offices  for  some 
time,  the  rest  being  rented.  In  1896-7,  it  became  compulsory  to 
add  another  story  and  build  an  addition  which  makes  the  Trumbull 
street  frontage  one  hundred  and  four  feet,  and  still  another  addition 
in  the  re'ar  of  the  other  had  to  be  built  in  1906. 

Viewed  from  either  street,  it  is  one  of  the  most  substantial- 
looking  structures  in  a  city  of  handsome  insurance  buildings. 
Carved  in  stone  over  the  entrance  and  between  the  stories  of  the 
addition  and  carved  in  wood  within  the  building  is  the  now  widely 
familiar  hart.  One  large  piece  of  fine  carving,  in  the  vice  presi- 
dents' room,  represents  the  whole  seal  of  the  company. 

Yet  everywhere  it  is  utility  and  worthiness  that  are  aimed  at. 
The  massive  vaults,  almost  in  the  center  of  the  enlarged  offices, 
are  unexceptionable.     To  the  south  of  them  are  the  rooms  for  the 

[  142  ] 


officers,  the  president's  office  looking  out  upon  both  Trumbull  and 
Pearl  streets,  remodeled  this  year.  1  o  the  north  of  the  hallway 
leading  back  toward  the  vaults  from  the  entrance  is  the  main  office 
room  where  the  many  clerks  have  the  best  of  light  and  air  and  the 
secretaries'  desks  are  on  a  low  platform  by  the  Trumbull  street 
windows.  The  maps  and  like  statistical  data  have  abundant  space 
in  the  recent  enlargement  of  this  room  to  the  west. 

In  the  rear  of  the  main  office  part  of  the  building  is  the  printing 
plant,  devoted  wholly  to  the  company's  work  and  one  of  the  largest 
as  it  is  one  of  the  most  completely  outfitted  in  the  city.  There  are 
thirteen  presses  and,  working  nights  as  well  as  days  much  of  the 
time,  the  sixty-five  employees  have  all  they  can  do  to  turn  out  the 
work  required  for  the  fast  increasing  business.  They  do  all  the 
printing,  binding  and  general  publishing  for  the  Eastern  Depart- 
ment and  a  large  portion  of  that  for  the  rest  of  the  field.  For  one 
item  alone,  there  are  170  forms  of  policies,  which  number  includes 
the  various  "standard"  forms  and  the  variations  of  them  called  for 
by  the  laws  and  departments  of  different  states.  A  million  calendars 
a  year  are  sent  out  from  this  office  and  twenty  tons  of  blotting  paper, 
to  say  nothing  of  memorandum  books,  cards,  blanks  of  all  kinds, 
for  home  office  and  field,  record  books,  pamphlets  and  circulars. 


[  143] 


XIX 

THE  POLICY,  RATEMAKING  AND  REIN- 
SURANCE 

THE  policy,  as  has  been  said,  remains  in  its  chief  substance 
a  rather  constant  quantity.  Its  form  has  been  molded  in 
the  crucible  of  many  fiery  experiences  and  the  vagaries  of 
various  legislatures  necessitate  minor  variations,  but  its  main  prin- 
ciple of  protection  with  equity  is  unchanging  and  it  continues  the 
heart  of  the  whole  system. 

We  have  read  the  Sanford  &  Wadsworth  contract  of  1794  and 
the  proposals  and  hazards  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company 
of  1 8 10,  as  published  in  the  advertisement.*  The  contract  in 
that  first  policy  of  the  company  is  shown  on  opposite  page. 

The  steel  engraving  at  the  top  of  the  first  page,  suggestive  of  the 
value  of  insurance  in  its  day,  is  instructive  to  us.  The  scene  evi- 
dently is  at  the  foot  of  Ferry  street,  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut, 
in  Hartford.  Somewhat  idealized,  the  old  bridge  can  be  seen  in 
the  distance ;  there  is  a  ship  at  the  dock  and  another  on  the  stocks. 
A  three-story,  two-tenement  dwelling  hardby  is  on  fire,  the  two 
upper  floors  already  a  "seething  furnace."  A  woman,  with  the 
scantiest  of  emergency  apparel  and  both  arms  extended  toward 
heaven,  is  running  into  the  street  followed  by  a  child  which  is 
dragging  its  nightdress  behind  it,  while  the  husband,  clad  only  in 
short  night  clothes  and  a  high  hat,  is  straining  at  a  trunk  or  bureau 
in  the  front  doorway. 

A  bucket  brigade  of  about  fifty  men  is  passing  buckets  of  water 
from  the  handy  river  to  the  pump  machine  which  is  throwing  a 
small  stream  nearly  as  high  as  the  blazing  roof.  A  second  stream, 
directed  upon  almost  the  same  spot,  comes  also  from  this  machine 
or  from  another  near  it.  The  salvage  corps  is  at  work  and,  though 
the  family  have  not  had  time  to  dress,  the  foreground  is  strewn 
with  furniture  enough  to  set  up  housekeeping  with.  One  con- 
spicuous man  is  getting  along  famously  with  the  week's  washing 
or  the  family's  bedclothes  on  his  back.  Then  as  now,  undoubtedly, 
expectation  of  salvage  was  one  of  the  factors  in  making  rates. 

*  See  page  43. 

[    144  ] 


.a. 


HARTFORD  FIRE  INSURANCE  COMPANY. 

f3ri)ijJ  ^InjStrunient  or  Policp  of  ai^^utante 

Siln^UranCe  Companp,  in  consideration 

lo  die  wji^rMnutm  pa:^,  ihp  R4W<p?»  hertof  is  he^bv^dcnojTlpfJKd^HATa  agreed  to  Luuroj^ind  Oamhcreby  agrei 


It  Damage  by  Fiic,  to  die  & 


agree  loinstu'e,^  (J^y 


ig&^/fa'^^J'o  .<!Vn4^ 


/•/TN  CONSIpERATION  of  which  prcrfitsrt,  the  Hutford  Fire  Insurance  Company  Doru  hereby  covenant  and  agree  with  the  uid      ^-.  -•'>  ?^ 


■    ■■     rn«)'  sust^ahyymE,  upon   the 


Auignv  jhiU  orm^y  sus; 


Company  Dcra  hereby  covenant  and  agree  wim  me  uio      ^_  -•  ' 

Executors,  Adfflinistraton  and  auigns,  to  pay  ootJ  Mi)>fC^ll  L01&  «r  Dl^Ug?  nhich  the  Auurcd  CF 
property  herebj' Insured,  nai  c:Lce<diiic  in  amount  the  sajd  Sum  <^  ^ — T  'CTr  .  -y     C-  1  t^ 

.VND  ytUIS  CORDO^^Tlt*^  ilotJi  funher  covenant  and  »^(e  Isi  ind  niih  ikt-  laid  Assured  yfe«,«  Execulorsi  Auminiitritors  and  SSiisni,  that  ihii  .liiuraoce 
.hall  continue  and  be  in  force  from  the  expiration  of  the  time  before  mentioned  fur  i(i  doraljon,  for  »  long  as  the  srud  Ajiured,  ovu^  Aiiign*  *hafl  continue  to 
p.ny  the  fike  Rate  of  Premium,  u  hath  been  pud  for  ihii  Iniurancc,  for  iO  long  as  thii  C-oqxjralian  shall  agree  to  accept,  and  actually  receive  the  tame  from  the 
A-.i>u>rd  or  A^S  Assigns.  PtioviDEn,  That  the  PrcmiuTn  for  a  continuance  of  the  Insurance,  ^all  be  actuaUy  paid  by  the  Assured  or^'d^^Asiigiv*  to-Jii* 
I'orporaiion  before  the  Djy  bniilcd  for  the  li.-rminalion  of  the  Risk,  and  such  pament  pnfloned  on  this  Policj-,  or  a  Receipt  therefor  given  by  this  Corporaiioiii 
And  il  IB  further  agreed,  that  the  amount  of  such  Lots  or  Damage,  as  the  Absuivil  ^x/itjd  Assigns  shall  be  entiiird  to  receive  by  virtue  of  this  I'tlicy,  ihall  b« 
paid  within  Sixry  Days  after  notice  and  proof  thereof  trijde  by  the  Assured  in  confortnity  to  the  Proposals  of  this  Corporaiion  annexed  lo  this  Pobcy. 

/^ROVIDED  .VLWAYS,  and   it   is  hereby  declared,  that  lhi$   Corporation  shall   not  be  liable,  or  bound  lo  pay  the  said 
A$*ured,  in  this  Policy  named,       j^-t-:^  E«eculors,  Administrators,  or  Aisigns,  for  any  loss  or  Damage  by  fire  ihat  may  h.ippen  or  take  place  inconsequence 

of  any  Eanhquatc,  Invasion,  CivU  Commotion,  Riot,  «■  any  Miliiar>'  or  Usurped  Poiver  whatsoever.  PaoviDro  Also,  That  in  cue  the  Assured  shall  have  already  any 
oibrr  Insurance  on  ihr  hereby  Insured  Premises  /^^  shall  notify  the  same  lo  this  corporation,  before,  or  at  ihe^^c  of  the  evcculioa  of  this  Policy,  and  eaus« 
the  tame  to  l)c  endorsed  thereon,  or  this  Assurance  shall  be  void  and  of  no  rffcci  and  if  the  said  Assured,  aj/i^^  Assigns  shall  hereafter  make  any  other 
Insujacce  00  tlie  hereby  Insured  Premms      /Ld^  shall  wiih  all  rrasonahle  diligcrtce,  notify  the  «mc  10  (his  Corporatiun,  and  have  the  same   endorsed  on 

this  Instrumeul,  or  oihcrAiiise  acknuulcdgcd  in  ivriting,  by  this  Corporauon,  or  in  default  thereof  this  Policy  sh:)U  cease  and  be  of  no  further  effect.  A(.U  tt  l» 
rVRTiitn  DecLARCt}  and  Acrccd,  that  in  case  of  any  other  Insurance  being  made  upon  the  Premises  hereby  Irsurcd,  ehhrr  prior  or  subsequtnt  10  the  date  o^ 
these  Presents,  the  Assured  shall  not,  in  any  case  of  Lessor  Damage,  beentiUed  10  demand  orreeo'xrr,  on  this  policy,  any  greater  proportion  of  the  Lou.  susu 
than  ihe  amoum  heriliy  InsurnJ  shall  bear  to  the  whole  amoun'  "f  thf  several  Intllnnce^  made,  or  id  be  mide,  on  the  I' 
o  OccLARcD,  to  be  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  Partica  hereto,  and  of  these  Presents,  that 

shall,  at  any  tiroe  after  ihc  maJfXfg,  and 
during  the  lime  this  Policy  n-ould  otherwise  continue  in  force,  be  appropriated  or  used  for  the  purpose  of  carry  ing  cm  or  exercising  the  trade,  business  or  vocaiion  of  * 
Soap  Boiler,  Talto*  Chandler,  Brewer,  Maliler,  B.iktr,  Rope  Maker.  Sugar  Refiner,  Distiller,  Chemist,  Varnish  Maker.  Paper  M^ker,  Stable  Keeper,  Tavtra 
Ktiprr,  China,  Class,  or  E;.rlhinwarc  Seller,  Oil  and  Colourmen.  Printer,  Cooper,  Carpenter,  Cabinet  Maker,  Coach  Maker,  Boat  Builder,  Ship  Chandler  Of 
Apothecary,  or  any  Maoufaciory  iihich  requires  the  u^e  of  Fire  llea%  or  shall  be  used  for  the  purpose  bf  Storing  iherein  Gunpowder,  Hemp,  Ftaj,  Oil,  Piichi 
Tar,  Rnsm,  Turpentine,  Spirits  of  Turncrfine,  ^ua  Foriis,  Sirav ,  Hay,  Ci^n  Vnihnshed,  Fodder,  Distilled  Spirits,  or  other  hazardous  Uoods,  that  then  and 
from  rhcnteforth,  so  long  as  the  said  ^/^ ^/••-.^^o^>*^  ^^ 
shall  b(  appropriated  or  used  for  any  or  eilher  of  the  g|(q>oi(S  aforesaid,  the; 


l*r,-n>iic»  Imurcd  by  ilu#  Pul-^        AbO  It  la 

the  above  mentioned  ^^y£.^.c-£<:*^>vz^^ 


s  shall  e 


comprehend  or  t 

BuUioi 


Moi 


■eement  be  signified  in  vrriting, 
Mr  any  Bw4s  of  Account,  \Vr 


and  be  of  n 

A>D    IT    tS    XORtOVtIl    DtCtA 

tun  Securities,  Deeds,  or  other 


re  or  effect,  fiiltss  oTiitlmlit  spcciatlV 
That  ihn  Policy,  or  the  Insurance  hereby 
lei.ces  of  tiile  (o  Uind»i  DonJs,  Bills,  Note*, 


s  Co«POft« 
iniendi'd  10  be  irtadc,  does  ni 
orolhc.  EiiJcncesof  Debts, 

AND  IT  15  I'XOERSTOOD  AND  AGREED.  a»  well  by  this  Corporation,  as  by  the  Assured,  tvamed  in  ihU  PoLicr,  and  all  oihert  who  may  become 
'ntcreited  iherein.  thai  this  Insurance  is  made  and  accepted  in  reference  to  the  Proposals  which  accompany  these  Presenli,  and  in  every  case  the  said  l*ropOUl*  are  tQ 
be  used  to  eiphin  the  Rights  and  Obligations  of  the  Partirs,  e«ept  so  fat  forth  as  the  Policy  itself  speciiically  declares  ihoit  Rights  and  Obti^ations. 
IN  WITNESS  uh^wlr  iIk  siJ  C(^?ixirationhnie  caused  ibrtTiCoyinNyrit.  to  be  afhxcd  lo  these  Prewnu,  and  the  same  to  be  signed  b)- thtlr  Pjj 
SicarraRT.  th;  C^/Wfe^'vX?  — — —      ''"  ^^      C^^^^V€i^&^  in  ihe  year  o(  our  Lord  Orie  I'hous.and  Eight  huoilrtd  and 

N.  B.  This  poliq*  is  not  a-iignalilf,  unless  bv  eonscntof  the  Corporation,  manifested 


ic^/^cA^Ji^" 


A  wood-engraving  adaptation  of  this  same  picture  adorned  the 
top  of  the  third  page  of  some  of  the  poHcies  and  headed  the  adver- 
tisement in  the  press.  The  father  and  child  are  eUminated  but  the 
distracted  mother  is  still  there.  The  salvage  corps  is  reduced  to 
two  men  in  the  foreground,  staggering  under  the  weight  of  two  or 
three  beds  each.  A  ladder  reaches  to  the  glowing  embers  of  the 
roof.  This  wood-engraving  was  continued  till  1815  at  least,  and 
through  that  time  and  for  some  while  longer  the  date  at  the  bottom  of 
the  page  remained,  "Hartford,  July  27, 1810,"  and  under  all,  this  line: 

"N.  B. — The  company  will  begin  business  on  the  sixth  day  of 
August  next." 

In  1828  the  classifications  had  been  dropped  but  the  wood- 
cut had  reappeared. 

The  present  stock  policy  is  of  the  standard  form  prescribed  by 
law  and  needs  no  description  here. 

If  all  buildings  were  alike,  all  occupied  for  the  same  purpose, 
and  if  all  owners  were  actuated  by  the  same  high  motives,  fire 
insurance  would  be  a  simple  matter.  The  variety  of  buildings, 
of  occupancy  and  of  location  makes  for  complexity.  All  this  is 
axiomatic  to  insurance  men  and  the  present  system  is  a  readily 
understandable  outcome.  Yet  for  those  who  are  reading  the  story 
of  the  Hartford  to  get  at  the  process  by  which  the  fire  insurance 
of  today  was  evolved,  a  word  or  two  in  simplest  elucidation  is 
necessary.  In  the  beginning  there  were  only  two  rates,  according 
as  to  whether  the  building  was  of  brick  or  stone  or  of  wood  and 
with  no  concern  as  to  character  of  occupancy.  One  fire  after  another 
caused  the  shaping  of  a  method  of  classification,  with  division  and 
redivision  of  classes  —  to  continue  so  long  as  men  shall  vary  their 
mode  and  material  in  construction  and  the  purposes  of  occupancy 
and  so  long  as  communities  and  concerns  shall  improve  or  neglect 
facilities  for  fighting  fire.  Constant  study  indicates  approximately 
the  average  actual  cost  for  insuring,  class  by  class,  but  to  arrive 
at  the  fair  rate  for  the  individuals  in  a  class,  special  features  must 
be  taken  into  account,  necessitating  a  large  amount  of  data. 

Briefly,  the  aim  is  to  have  the  rates  uniformly  equitable  so  that 
each  class  and  each  person  insured  shall  contribute  a  just  share 
and  no  more  to  the  general  fund.  "Companies  as  a  whole,"  says 
Mr.  Bissell,  "are  estimated  to  expend  over  a  million  of  dollars  per 
annum  for  rating  purposes.  Single  companies  expend  as  much 
as  ^20,000  per  annum  for  maps  alone." 

[  146] 


COMPANIES    REINSURED 

Assisting  greatly  in  this  work  of  shaping  the  present  system, 
the  company  also  has  fostered  fire  insurance  in  general.  We  have 
seen  how  it  was  the  first  to  reinsure  another  company  —  the  New 
Haven  Fire.  Since  then  it  has  added  to  its  list  of  companies  rein- 
sured by  it  the  following: 

Equitable  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Concord,  N.  H.,  .   1869 
Savannah  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company,  Savannah,  Ga.,  1890 
Central  City  Insurance  Company,  Selma,  Ala.,    ....    June  27,  1892 
Guardian  Assurance  Corporation,  Limited,  London,  Eng- 
land (;^2 10,000,000), May  29,  1894 

Broadway  Insurance  Company  of  New  York, November  11,  1896 

Crescent  City  Insurance  Company  of  New  Orleans,  La.,  November  30,  1896 
Queen  City  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,   June  17,  1898 
Fireman's  Insurance  Company  of  Boston,  Mass.,    .    .    .    July  9,  1898 
Saginaw  Valley  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company, 

Saginaw,  Mich., May  14,  1899 

Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Company,  Columbus,  Ohio,     .    September  16,  1899 
Merchants'  Insurance  Company,  of  Providence,  R.  L,  .   July  3,  1900 
Queens  and  Suffolk  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  Yap- 
hank,  N.  Y., April  26,  1901 

Lancashire   Insurance  Company,  Manchester,   England 

(1^276,022,000),      April  26,  1901 

American  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  New  York,      .    .   June  28,  1901 
Reading  Fire  Insurance  Company,  Reading,  Penn.,   .    .    September  18,  1902 
Hamilton  Fire  Insurance  Company,  New  York,.    .    .    .    February  19,  1904 
Alexandria  Fire  Insurance  Company,  Alexandria,  Va.,  .    December  7,  1904 
Mississippi  Fire  Association,  Ebenezer,  Miss.,     ....   May  i,  1906 
Mississippi  Home  Insurance  Company,  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  May  i,  1908 
Delaware  Fire  Insurance  Company,  Dover,  Del.,   .    .    .    February  2,  1909 


[  H7  ] 


XX 

CONCLUSION 

THE  story  of  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  thus 
brought  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  company's  second 
century,  an  idea  of  the  strength  of  the  institution  today  is 
best  gathered  from  its  One  Hundredth  Annual  Exhibit  —  for  Jan- 
uary I,  1910  —  as  given  on  a  later  page.  It  may  occur  to  some 
that  in  theory  leastwise  the  founders  of  18 10  were  rather  ahead  of 
the  times  in  their  locality,  and  it  is  not  incredible  that  along  in  the 
'20's  sundry  dubious  stockholders  had  that  impression  unpleasantly. 
In  the  fact,  however,  that  the  management  was  properly  ahead  of 
the  times  there  surely  was  satisfaction  for  the  company  and  solace 
for  others  when  such  a  calamity  came  as  that  of  the  New  York 
fire  in  1835. 

The  "Old  Hartford's"  demonstration  then,  witnessed  of  all 
men,  was  accepted  as  establishing  the  rule  for  all  administrations 
for  all  time.  It  was  that,  in  order  to  be  what  it  purported  to  be, 
the  company  must  keep  far  ahead  of  immediate  obligations,  that 
it  must  study  the  future  and  that  it  must  be  prepared  for  whatever 
emergencies  may  arise. 

What  that  involves  in  the  way  of  mentality,  science,  prescience, 
skill  and  daily  work  can  well  be  imagined  but  hardly  can  be  de- 
scribed within  the  limits  of  the  company's  history.  From  what 
has  been  given  of  the  process  of  building  it  is  possible  to  form 
conjecture  of  what  is  being  done  now.  For  the  upbuilding  ceases 
not  but  gathers  power  and  strength. 

[  148  ] 


PACIFIC  DEPARTMENT 


WHITNEY    PALACHE 

General    Agent 


DIXWELL  HEWITT 

Cieneral    Acent 


TEXAS   DEPARTMENT 


J.   B.  HEREFORD 

General    Agent 


THOMAS  EGLESTON 

General    Agent 


W.  R.   PRESCOTT 

<i  e  n  e  ra  I    Agent 


SOUTHERN  DEPARTMENT 


PRESIDENTS 

Nathaniel  Terry, 1810-1835 

Eliphalet  Terry, 1835- 1849 

Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr., 1849-1864 

Timothy  C.  Allyn, 1864- 1 867 

George  L.  Chase, 1867-1908 

Charles  E.  Chase, IQ08- 

HONORARY 
VICE  PRESIDENTS  VICE  PRESIDENTS 

Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.  Charles  E.  Chase, .    .    .    1903-1908 

(temporary), 1836  Richard  M.  Bissell,   .    .    1903- 

Charles  Boswell, 1849  (Underwriting    Man- 
Albert  Day, 1856-1857*  ager,  1909-) 

1867-1874     John  W.  G.  Cofran,  .    .    1909- 
James  Goodwin,     ....    1 874-1 877 

Calvin  Day, 1 878-1 884 

Henry  Keney,      1885 

1887-1895 
Jonathan  B.  Bunce,   .    .    .    1895-1903 


Walter  Mitchell, 
James  G.  BoUes, 
Charles  Taylor,  . 
A.  F.  Wilmarth,  . 
Caleb  B.  Bowers, 
Timothy  C.  Allyn, 
George  M.  Coit, 
John  D.  Browne, 
Charles  B.  Whiting, 


SECRETARIES 

1810-1835  Philander  C.  Royce,  .    .    1886-1907 

1835-1851  Thomas  Turnbull,     .    .    1908-1910 

1851-1852  Frederick   Samson  (un- 

1852-1853  derwriting  dept.),  .    .    1910- 

1853-1858  Sidney    E.    Locke    (uii- 

1858-1864  derwriting  dept.),  .    .    1910- 

1864-1870  Daniel    J.  Glazier    (re- 

1870-1880         cording), 1910- 

1880-1886 


ASSISTANT  SECRETARIES 

Christopher  C.  Lyman,  .  1835-1878  Charles  E.  Chase,  .  .  .  1894-1903 
Philander  C.  Royce,  .  .  1881-1886  Frederick  Samson,  .  .  .  1908-1910 
Thomas  Turnbull,    .    .    .    1886-1908     Sidney  E.  Locke, .    .    .    .    1908-1910 

*  Acted  as  president  during  the  winter  while  President  Huntington  was  absent. 


[  >5'  ] 


DIRECTORS* 

Nathaniel  Terry, 

Nathaniel  Patten, 

David  Watkinson, 

1824- 

Daniel  Buck, 

Thomas  Glover,      

Thomas  K.  Brace,      

James  H.  Wells,      

Ward  Woodbridge, 

Henry  Hudson, 

Spencer  Whiting, 

1820- 

Elisha  Colt, 

1825- 
1832- 
1835- 

Edward  Watkinson, 

Roswell  Bartholomew 

Eliphalet  Terry, 

John  Russ, 

Jesse  Savage, 

Thomas  Day, 

Seth  Terry, 

Thomas  Chester, 

Harvey  Seymour, 

1837 

Edward  P.  Cook, 

Anson  G.  Phelps, 

Luther  P.  Sargeant, 

Henry  Shepard, 

Isaac  Thompson, 

Fontienne  Raphel, 

Isaac  D.  Bull, 

Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr., 

Roswell  B.  Ward, 

♦  Second  column,  date  of  election  of  successor, 

[  152] 


810-1835 

810-1831 

810-1817 

830 

8.10-1818 

810-1815 

810-1817 

810-1836 

810-1817 

810-1824 

815-1816 

823 

816-1820 

828 

833 
836 

817-1829 

817-1830 

817-1849 

818-1819 

819-1820 

820-1822 

822-1835 

823-1825 

827-1835 

838 

828-1834 

830-1834 

830-1834 

831-1832 

833-1834 
834-1835 

834-1835 
834-1865 
834-1836 


DIRECTORS— Continued 

Samuel  H.  Huntington, 

1843- 

Albert  Day,      

Samuel  Williams, 

Frank  J.  Huntington, 

Edwin  D.  Morgan, 

1840- 
Job  Allyn, 

1849- 

George  Putnam, 

Junius  S.  Morgan, 

1843 

Henry  Waterman, 

Ezra  White,  Jr., 

John  D.  Russ, 

James  Goodwin,  Jr., 

John  P.  Brace, 

1852- 

George  C.  Collins, 

Charles  Boswell, 

Henry  Keney, 

William  T.  Lee, 

Calvin  Day, 

Daniel  Buck,  Jr., 

1851 

David  F.  Robinson, 

Charles  J.  Russ, 

Enoch  C.  Roberts, 

Timothy  C.  Allyn, 

Christopher  C.  Lyman, 

George  L.  Chase, 

Henry  J.  Johnson, 

Jonathan  B.  Bunce,   

E.  B.  Watkinson, 

Olcott  Allen, 

John  H.  Goodwin, 


1835- 

84a 

1848 

1835- 

874 

1835- 

837 

1835- 

836 

1836- 

837 

I84I 

1836- 

843 

1867 

1836- 

840 

1836- 

[841 

1852 

1837- 

1838 

1838- 

1843 

1838- 

[840 

1840- 

[878 

1841- 

[846 

1864 

I84I- 

[842 

1842- 

[885 

1842- 

'895 

1846- 

[847 

1847- 

[885 

1848- 

[849 

1852 

1849- 

[851 

1852- 

1861 

I86I- 

[876 

1864- 

867 

1865- 

884 

1867- 

908 

1867- 

875 

1868- 

1868- 

885 

1869-1 

870 

1869-1 

873 

'53 


DIRECTORS — Continued 

H.  W.  Conklin, 1869-1881 

G.  Wells  Root, 1873-1881 

George  Sexton, 1874-188 1 

James  J.  Goodwin, 1878- 

Jacob  L.  Greene, 1879-1905 

Theodore  Lyman, 1884- 

George  Roberts, 1884- 

John  C.  Day,  1885-1900 

William  C.  Skinner, 1885- 

Meigs  H.  Whaples, 1893- 

James  M.  Thomson, 1900- 

Charles  E.  Chase, 1905- 

RlCHARD    M.   BiSSELL, 1908- 


[  154 


PREMIUMS  BY  DECADES 

1810-1820 $      46,586.45 

1820-1830, 194,710.84 

1830-1840, 939,824.41 

1840-1850, 2,172,902.16 

1850-1860, 4,546,534.87 

1860-1870, 11,040,380.77 

1870-1880, 18,253,205.95 

1880-1890, 24,228,783.37 

1890-1900, 52,864,743.48 

1900-1910, 112,493,809.28 


;^226,78i,48i.58 

Total  Losses, ;jSi32,992,588.44 

Total  Dividends, 14,420,329.00 

Total  Stock  Dividends, 950,000 .  00 


['55l 


PROGRESS  IN  TEN  YEARS 


Dec. 

Admitted 

Surplus  as  to 

Premiums 

31st 

Assets 

Policyholders 

1900 

$  I  l",  1 44,675 

^4,798,180 

$  6,684,747 

I90I 

12,259,076 

4,250,855 

9.653,783 

1902 

13,419.588 

4,407,181 

9,621,469 

1903 

14,542,952 

5.187,797 

10,073,971 

1904 

15,632,483 

5,276,249 

11,876,983 

1905 

18,061,926 

6,400,696 

12,936,113 

1906 

19,054.843 

4,819,909 

13,981,228 

1907 

18,920,604 

5,261,450 

14.431.828 

1908 

20,434,817 

7,061,592 

14,071,456 

1909 

23.035.700 

8,713.748 

14,989,010 

Average,   ^11,894,477 
Increase  in  10  years,         ^11,891,025  $3,915,568  ;?8,304,263 

In  ten  years  premiums,  assets  and  premium  income  have  con- 
siderably more  than  doubled;  surplus  to  policyholders  has  nearly 
doubled.  The  average  ratio  of  losses  paid  to  premiums  received 
at  the  average  ratio  of  losses  incurred  are  identical,  58,  including 
1906  with  97  for  both  ratios. 


[  156] 


Year 

1835 
1845 

1848 

1866 

1871 

1872 

1874 


1877 
1880 
1882 
1885 
1889 
1900 
I9OI 
1902 


Premiums  for 
the  Year 

iS!37'732 
177,213 
284,631 
1,297,226 
1,987,109 
2,176,014 
2,097,497 


1875      1,892,496 


1,628,998 
1,607,929 
2,064,649 
2,312,587 
2,831,352 
6,684.747 
9.653-783 
9,621,469 


1904    11,876,983 


1906 
1908 


13,981,228 
14,071.456 


CONFLAGRATIONS 


New  York  City,  Dec.  16, 
New  York  City,  July  19, 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  August  17 
Portland,  Maine,  July  4, 
Chicago,  111.,  Oct.  8,  .    . 
Boston,  Mass.,  Nov.  9,  . 
Chicago,  111.,  July  14,    . 
Oshkosh,  Wis.,  April  28, 
Virginia  City,  Nev.,  Oct.  26 
St.  John,  N.  B.,  June  20, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  Jan.  2, 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  Feb.  18 
Galveston,  Texas,  Nov., 
Lynn,  Mass.,  Nov.  26,  . 
Ottawa,  Ont.,  April  26, 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  May  3 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  Feb.  9, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  Feb.  8, 
Toronto,  Ont.,  April  19,  .    . 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  April  18, 
Chelsea,  Mass., 


Cooflagration 

Total 

Losses 

Losses  for 

the  Year 

^64,973 

$75,000 

69,691 

136,751 

57,673 

210,391 

151,288 

961,468 

1,933.562 

3,006,510 

485,315 

1,658,314 

43,121 

1,017,983 

41,640  '^ 
67.572  i 

1,087,688 

'             /    ' 

137,627 

991,606 

33,813 

861,402 

42,843 

1,238,058 

39,606 

1,378,315 

61,118 

1,593,215 

177.785 

4,260,475 

215,900 

5,647,632 

106,643 

5,157,706 

1,213,843 1 
160,952 1 

7,252,929 

7,011,636 

13,515,021 

279,782 

7,828,360 

157 


ONE  HUNDREDTH  ANNUAL  EXHIBIT 

JANUARY   1,  1910 

Assets  1910 

Cash  on  hand,  in  Bank,  and  Cash  Items,  ;?i, 161,030. 49 
Cash  in  hands  of  Agents  and  in  course  of 

Transmission, 2,645,448  .  50 

Rents  and  Accrued  Interest, 209,081.89 

Real  Estate  Unincumbered, 897,500.00 

Loans  on  Bond  and  Mortgage  (ist  lien),  395,166.67 

Loans  on  Collateral  Security, 13,000.00 

Stocks  and  Bonds 17,714,473.06 


Increase  over 
1909 


Total  Assets, ;j523,o35,7oo.6i        $2,600,884.00 


Liabilities 

Capital  Stock, 

Reserve  for  Reinsurance,  .  .  . 
Reserve  for  Outstanding  Losses, 
Reserve  for  Taxes  not  yet  due. 

Net  Surplus, 

Surplus  to  Policyholders, 


;?2,ooo,ooo.oo 

12,742,135-49 
1,379,817.62 

200,000 .  00 

6,713.747-50 
8,713.747-50 


;SS7i9,66i  .62 
211,067.26 

1,652,155.12 
1,652,155.12 


[  158] 


GENERAL  CHRONOLOGY 

1 794.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  Daniel  Wadsworth,  John  Caldwell, 
John  Morgan  and  Peleg  Sanford,  as  pioneers,  associated 
together  (but  were  not  incorporated)  as  the  Hartford  Fire 
Insurance  Company. 

1798.  Partnership  ended  but  pioneers  continued  interested  in 
underwriting. 

1 8 10.  Some  of  these  pioneers  were  among  those  who  secured  a 
perpetual  charter  for  the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany; capital  $150,000,  cash  paid  in  $15,000.  Organized 
June  27;  Nathaniel  Terry  president,  Walter  Mitchell  sec- 
retary with  salary  of  $300;  office  in  Mitchell's  law  office 
and  $30  allowed  him  for  a  year's  firewood.  Hartford  Bank 
stock  was  the  first  investment.  Jonathan  G.  W.  Trumbull, 
Norwich,  Conn.,  was  appointed  agent  December  27.  No 
losses  were  incurred  the  first  year. 

181 1.  First  agent  outside  of  the  state  was  appointed,  Ebenezer  F. 
Norton,  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.  No  commissions  were  paid, 
but  the  agents  were  allowed  the  charge  made  for  survey 
and  policy  fee. 

1816.  Dividend  of  $4  was  declared  and  instalment  of  $4  was 
called  for.  Agents  were  allowed  50  cents  on  each  policy 
of  over  $1,000. 

18 18.  Gratuities  were  voted  to  Hartford  firemen. 

1819.  Percentage  was  allowed  to  agents  for  commission. 

1820.  Wider  expansion  was  undertaken. 

1822.  First  instance  in  America  of  reinsurance  was  when  the 
Hartford  reinsured  the  Ngw  Haven,  June  15,  and  gave  a 
bond  equal  to  its  capital. 

1823.  First  salary  to  the  president  was  voted  —  $100  semi-annual. 
1827-29.     Heavy  losses. 

[159] 


1 829-     First  clerk  was  appointed,  Lewis  Bliss  —  salary,  JK500. 

1830.     Capital  was  impaired. 

1835.  Eliphalet  Terry  was  chosen  president;  James  G.  Bolles 
appointed  secretary.  The  office  was  moved  from  No.  26^ 
to  No.  16  State  street.  Great  fire  in  New  York,  December 
16,  called  for  1^64,973. 

1836-46.     Large  increase  in  business;  agencies  extended. 

1845-49.  Fires  in  New  York,  St.  John's,  N.  F.,  Nantucket, 
Albany  and  St.  Louis  called  for  ^324,577. 96. 

1849.  Hezekiah  Huntington,  Jr.,  succeeded  Eliphalet  Terry,  re- 
signed, as  president. 

1852.  Western  Department  was  established,  at  Columbus,  O. 

1853.  Charter  was  amended,  doubling  the  capital  and  increasing 
par  value  from  ^^50  to  ^100. 

Office  was  moved  to  Main  street  near  Pratt. 


1854 
1857 

1859 


Capital  was  increased  to  $500,000  from  profits  in  the  treas- 
ury;  amendment  permitted  ;^i, 000,000. 

Office  was  moved  to  building  on  Main  street  opposite  the 
old  statehouse. 


1 86 1.     Western  Department  headquarters  removed  to  Chicago. 

1864.  Capital  was  raised  to  $1, 000,000,  by  profits. 

1865.  Charter  amendment  adopted  permitted  $3,000,000  capital. 
Timothy  C.  Allyn  succeeded  Mr.  Huntington  as  president. 

1865-66.  Large  fires  in  Augusta  and  Portland,  Me.,  and  Vicks- 
burg,  Miss.,  yet  — 

1866.  Assets  were  increased  by  $200,000. 

1867.  George  L.  Chase  succeeded  Mr.  Allyn  as  president. 

1870.  New  building  was  occupied. 

1871.  Loss  by  the  Chicago  fire  was  $1,933,562.  Capital  was 
reduced  to  $500,000  and  immediately  restored  to  $1,000,000, 
rights  selling  at  $80. 


[  160] 


1872.  Boston  fire  losses  of  $485,315  were  paid  out  of  current 
receipts. 

1877.     Capital  was  increased  to  $1,250,000,  by  profits  in  the  treasury. 

1896-97.     Home  Office  building  was  enlarged. 

1900-02.  Large  fires  in  Ottawa,  Ont.,  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  and 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  caused  losses  of  $494,328. 

1903.  First  formal  vice  presidents  were  chosen  —  Charles  E.  Chase 
and  Richard  M.  Bissell. 

1904.  Baltimore  fire  losses  totaled  $1,213,843. 

1906.  San  Francisco's  promptly  settled  losses  amounted  to  $7,- 
011,636.  The  capital  was  increased  to  $2,000,000.  Home 
OfSce  building  was  again  enlarged. 

1908.  President  Chase  died.  Charles  E.  Chase  was  elected 
president. 

1909.  Vice  President  Bissell  was  made  underwriter  manager. 
John  W.  G.  Cofran  was  chosen  vice  president. 

1910.  Centennial  year. 


[  161  ] 


hi ., 

^  Ob 


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